Star Wars: The Old Republic: Darth Nihilus
by Darth Saevus
Summary: "Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders warriors and Republic Navy soldiers are fighting to death in a battle that has started since the Mandalorian Wars. The outcome is terrible. Almost everything that lives on Malachor V's surface dies. And when a certain Mandalorian slave is blasted by Revan's Mass Shadow Generator: a monster of hunger and darkness is born. Darth Nihilus."
1. Desolation

PROLOGUE:

Three thousands of years before the Galactic Republic, before Emperor Palpatine's soul-crushing empire and the fearsome Darth Vader, darker powers dragged the galaxy down into misery and suffering. Horrible, inhumane events: all caused by the obsession of one particular Master of the Sith in destroying the very fabric of the Force.

As consequence of greed, lust, and of war: a beast of Hunger rose from the depths of darkness. Prepared to devour the light, then to devour the darkness itself, until nothing was left. Until even the beast had found his end too or exist as the sole entity in the universe.

And you wonder where are you as you read these words. You exist everywhere and nowhere at the same time: you are guided by the Force.

Right now you have the chance to see it. To see the power that once threatened to annihilate all things until nothing would have remained to continue the legacy of life.

Close your eyes and let the time going backwards by the Force's will and command. The Force has a story. A story, it wants to tell you about. It wants to warn you, me, all of us, about three people's actions and consequences of following the path of self-destruction: about one's obsession with destroying the driving force behind creation, about one's endless hunger for life and about one's ultimate secret to immortality. You don't need to be afraid; you just listen to it and follow it back in time.

Before these dark events transpired, it goes as back as possible it can… So it can give you a glimpse of what it was once. So you can know the horrors of those events and how the beast of hunger made his way to the surface to destroy a galaxy.

And so it begins...

Green and orange laser beams covered the dark dying sky. Blue, yellow and green sparks flew in the air obliterating the gloomy surface of Malachor: a potent world infused with the dark side of the Force, a living manifestation, like Korriban.

Mandalorian slaves were being transported far away from this wondrous place sipped into the Sith influence. Among these slaves, a human male stood too: Vodan Tenebb. A man recently abducted from his home planet. Onderon.

Vodan desired more than ever to make his way out of there, but he did not have the ability to wield the Force to plan such a bold attempt. He was a mere man. And life had shown him this considering his recent tragic events.

His white eyes gazed at the visible stars, his slave suit was dirt of the work he has done during his deport. His face was scarred. His left eye was shortcut during his deport. His entire body was subjected to the barbaric torture of the Mandalorians. The man's stance was knackered, his spirit, broken, marked by the actions of the baneful past.

The war drums beat louder and louder as the conflict intensified. Masses of republican and Mandalorian starships land-crashed. Some of the starships ascended into the depths of the sky and exploded while on the land men's corpses were paving the cold harsh soil. Fleets after fleets continued to firepower one in each other; each side desiring to end this spanning conflict, that has caused major losses on both sides.

"So fools, don't they realize they fight a war that cannot be won?", he clenched his fist, softly, trying to draw the attention of those who were with him. The slave looked through the window: he knew that his life has come to an end. There is no reason to hope that some saviors will come for them. Not that he ever had hope in his life or faith in the Jedi.

Suddenly, a huge vortex appeared in the sky catching into its gravitational field every spaceship: small or big, it didn't matter. They were drawn into the abyss.

Vodan knew that he would be safe when the void was swallowing everything in its path. He knew that the Mandolorians had a somewhat concern to preserve their slaves in check to take no hit in their financial support. It was a well-known fact that the Mandalorians upgraded their vehicles to repel gravitational fields and the slaves would be put automatically in cyrogenic capsules.

Here it was not the case. This sky-abyss was too powerful.

The destructive void violently swallowed everything in its path: Republicans and Mandalorians alike. A horrifying picture of death. The surface started to change: the soil turned gray and dusty, the plants withered and their remains ascended into the air or might have disappeared mysteriously.

The slave ship was crushed into the vortex. The abyss took every one and every living thing on the planet, killing them, creating a breach into the very fabric of Force. And Vodan didn't escape its wrath.

Death and tragedy lay on the evil marvelous planet that once belonged to the old Sith Empire: a rich and powerful world in the dark side, now a wound where the Force was echoing with the screams of the dead.

But has anyone survived in the ensuing battle?

Desolation

Chapter I

A heart beats, two eyes open up, a body moves…

The broken man awakens from the sleep of death; he feels like it has been a short-lived moment, like when a being closes their eyes and then opens them in a matter of second; though it has passed some good years.

Six years.

Six years, since Revan, Alek and Meetra Surik: three famous rebellious Jedi alongside Revan's loyal followers, have defeated the Mandalorians by using the Mass Shadow Generator created by their Zabrak engineer Bao-Dur.

Vodan heard about these three Jedi and the Revanite movement too; but he didn't know who was to be blamed for this catastrophic event. He had other problems to worry about now. Vodan slowly punched the vehicle's windows. The physical effort he performed to break them left him weakened and he collapsed on the ground.

Around him, the chaotic starships and fleets that have attacked each other ceased to bring fire and destruction upon the world, as if an unnatural force participated to their tragic demise. Vodan put himself up back on his feet and found himself in a junk yard of ships—some of the Republic cracking the planet's ground, other of the Mandalorians that were physically torn apart by the bizarre phenomenon.

When Vodan fully regained his consciousness: he experienced a feeling of emptiness. A feeling of 'hunger'. He felt his heart beating faster: his blood pumping quicker in his ravaged body. He began to manifest convulsions.

Unwillingly, he 'heard' the thought of a helpless, yet, infuriated being,

"Someone, come here. I'm trapped into this damn ship!"

Vodan followed the sound in his head, walking upon the lifeless soil of Malachor Five, stepping on light stones and crushing them. The source of the voice led the former slave to a crashed Neo-Crusade starship.

The Mandalorian trapped within the crashed ship tried to press enough force on the glass to shatter it, but with no success.

"Damn it, need to get out of here. I don't even know how much it passed since I was kept in stasis.", the brave man kept to punch the starship's barely broken window.

Unbeknownst to the hardened man, Vodan stared at him with a deep desire to end the warrior's existence . Kidnapped from his home, forced to do tasks for a slave, Vodan was more than happy to strike down that Mandalorian fighter.

The attempt was an utter disaster. The warrior noticed Vodan's presence and used his gauntlet for the last time to destroy the starship's glass, hitting the man with it and breaking the gauntlet in the process.

The Mandalorian warrior lunched and grabbed the slender man by his arms lifting him up in the air with his sheer physical strength. The warrior saw his uniform and knew the person was one of their slaves, apparently this one survived in the ensuing battle.

"You filthy, slave. I'll take your life, now. No one defies Juelko-Au'rak Dae'co Kabaarness the Second, no one. Ever!"

Juelko-Au'rak Dae'co Kabaarness the Second or known by his allies as 'Jad Kay the Second'- was one of Mandalore the Ultimate's closest allies. He has fought Jedi, even dark side practitioners during his life as bounty hunter before he entered into their Neo-Crusader ranks. In spite of his lack of Force sensitivity, Jad Kay learned on his own skin how to resist and combat powerful Force-based attacks by wearing unnoticeable amulets in his armor that deflected Sith lightning, mind tricks, mind illusions, it allowed the user to be rendered a blank spot in the Force. The tiny amulets stuffed into his armor were passed to him by his deceased Dark Jedi father Juelko-Au'rak Dae'Co Karbaarness the First, receiving it before he became a fully fledged warrior into the Neo-Crusade movement. The amulets had the power to protect one's signature from one of the most hideous abilities of the dark side used by the Sith: the Force drain technique.

The bad shape Mandalorian warrior held Vodan by his fragile neck ready to squish it. Then, it happened: a mysterious craving for life and Force sprung out of Tenebb. The charmed amulets have protected Jad from many Force abilities, but the slave's power was different. Tenebb's hunger disrupted his precious amulets of their magic, consuming the Force energy within them. Before grasping the concept of death, Jad was gone. His lifeforce and his soul were consumed as fast as the thought. Fastest type of consumption.

This abominable inconvenient result of the Mass Shadow Generator has created a monster, a devourer of all living things, a wound in the Force—a relentless force of hunger.

Vodan felt an agonizing pain before devouring the Mandalorian's essence, as if his very being was absorbed by a black hole. Never to return.

When the lifeforce of the warrior filled him, Vodan felt complete again.

A moment of euphoria and wholeness, but it did not last long, the excruciating appetite for life induced him into a stage of agony again. Vodan let his all-consuming hunger to be his guide in absorbing all the energies resulted from deaths caused by Revan's devastating device. Craving for Force energy, lifeforce, and death; they became his primordial thing.

He fed instinctively with the deaths of all those on the planet: hundreds of Republican soldiers and Mandalorian warriors alike. He might have done that even when he was in the cryogenic capsule.

Vodan walked through the graveyard of broken warships, reaching into an area populated by a non-sentient hostile semi-humanoid species called 'storm beasts': monstrous creatures twisted by the long gone-energy of the dark side of the Force. The storm beasts were two meters tall with green skin, red small sharp teeth, and black eyes.

The creatures acknowledged the man's presence and they set an ambush. The human ran as fast as he could trying to save his life throughout the cracked and twisted wasteland covered with jagged cliffs and plagued by constant lightning storms.

In a flash of dark side power, the beasts cornered the human, ready to kill their defenseless prey.

Fear crippled in Vodan's mind, and he straightened his hands at the hideous monster suspending them into a sudden whirlwind of thirty meters high hurling the storm beasts out of the planet's orbit. Performing such a devastating attack took its toll. And Vodan collapsed on the lifeless ground.

With no exterior aid, Vodan wondered himself if he was truly able to practice the mystical power used by the Jedi and Sith, so simply called, 'The Force'. But how was he capable to use it in the first place, since his parents were no real scions of a sensitive in the Force but mere men with simple daily works and daily problems?

If this mysterious energy inhabited his ravaged body; of what other wondrous things was he capable of, Vodan asked himself again. His mind consuming questions were met by the exact answers when a beautiful elderly woman with hooded face dressed in a black robe was coming to him stepping out from her own starship that landed near the young man.

She walked elegantly toward a collapsed man and kneeled on her both feet,

"Who…khhh…are…hhh, you?", he was barely breathing.

The enigmatic old figure laid her soft left hand fingers on his head,

"I hold the answers to your questions, seeker."

"My name's Vodan Tenebb. Son of dead Tenebb and his wife.", he blinked twice,

"What's yours, old woman?", he slowly exhaled,

"Darth Traya. That's what they call me.", she softly said,

"What are you doing on this planet?", he added,

"What can I hope to find but truth and revenge.", the elder woman told him.

"Revenge, against who?", he stood up holding himself by the woman's shaking hand.

"Who else but the Jedi.", she added gazing at the stars and worlds that were in the cosmos, barely seen by the naked eye.

"When it comes about the nature of the Force and the truth of this perverted universe, they are so arrogant and ignorant. They think the Force is somewhat split apart in two. They are so naive.", Traya amused herself.

"They fail to see the light and the darkness are working one with each other and have no concern for what is happening around in this universe. These Jedi are so blind, they do not realize the Force controls everything and everyone of us. It is its will everything happens this way. And I hate it for that."

"They must see the truth. And I will make them to see it, no matter what happens to this galaxy."

"I hate the Jedi too. Because of them the galaxy is always enslaved. They have a great power but they don't care to use it to protect those who cannot defend themselves. They are sunk into their peaceful ways and refuse to see that the galaxy is constantly changing. It's only the Republic that matters to them. And that's all."

"Because of them, my parents died in a spaceship explosion at the hands of a couple of bounty hunters and I was left to 'rot' in an orphanage, I was everyone's joke. I hate them all.", Vodan angrily clenched his right fist with despise remembering about his past.

The old woman wished to continue their dialogue but the man had more to tell,

"I hate all the Jedi, especially one: Revan."

"Revan, the Prodigal Jedi Knight?", she said,

"When I searched for my parents' death cause, I have found out those hired bounty hunters tried to frame-up Revan, so the Republic would lose their faith in him and his followers in their battles against the Mandalorians."

Traya sensed his immense hate for the Jedi and Revan, seeking it as the perfect opportunity in destroying the Force and make the Jedi see the 'real' face of this universe. For her, Vodan Tenebb was essential. And his strange condition made him even more priceless to her.

"You will always find out that nothing else brings people closer but hate itself."

"Let's share our contempt for the Jedi and the Republic. We will make them pay for their utter ignorance and we will show them the consequences of the truth."

"Become my student and I shall learn you the ways of the Force. I will make you more powerful than you can ever imagine, mister Tenebb."

"To be like a Jedi?", he replied back,

"Like, a Jedi?", she laughed and puffed her chest out,

"No. Those ways are long obsolete."

"I will learn you the ways of the dark side. The ways of the Sith.", she looked at him, right into his eyes. The only thing she could see was an immense void of unnatural blackness filled with hate and antipathy.

"I consider your words, old woman.", he nodded.

"But what should we do?"

"First, we shall go for a walk.", despite being an elder, Traya's body was still attractive and beautiful to the men of her age. And she was walking quite fast.

As the two moved on the crackle soil, Vodan was unsure about where they were heading,

"Excuse me, but where more exactly are we going?", he looked at her while they were going.

"We are heading to an ancient academy that once belonged to my ancient predecessors. That structure holds secrets waiting to be unlocked by someone."

"After all, what is the meaning of knowledge if one is not willing to use it?"

"I'm not a man of knowledge. I care only about taking my revenge and to give a lesson to these worlds, to know that I exist."

"Yes, but remember, that with knowledge, there is power", the Sith Master added.

"I hurled thirteen beasts out of this planet's orbit. I don't think I need any 'knowledge'.",Vodan said to the elder woman.

"Yet that action exhausted you. Your attack was uncontrolled, sloppy, pathetic. You might have died as well."

"That is why knowledge is an essential part of one's evolution to a higher degree of existence. Without knowledge, we are governed by other forces. As most civilizations of this galaxy are."

Yet why him?

Vodan had another unanswered question. And the Dark Lord read his mind, offering it,

"If you wonder yourself why I chose you, is, because I can see your true nature. You are a breach in the Force. A void. You defy the very nature of the Force."

"You are not a slave to the Force as I am or all around you are. You are preying upon the Force like a wolf. You have the capacity to decide your destiny.", she dramatically said it.

"In time, even the mightiest of warriors would flee from your presence. Your potential of achieving power, it is, endless."

While they were talking, Traya and Vodan reached the Storm beast pen: a place where twenty monstrous creatures were ready to slaughter them.

"We're good as dead, let's run, Master.", he turned his back, and he might have run if she didn't stop him by Force-stunning his feet.

"Wait and think before acting. We shall pass safely and unharmed."

The Dark Lord subdued the storm beasts to her will, using a Force power, and they walked without problems among them.

"But how?", Vodan asked himself to the sudden stop of the creatures. How could they not see them? Was there a magic trick the elder woman did not wish to say?

"That is the power of knowledge, young man. With knowledge you can do so many things even if you lack tremendous power.", she said staring at the huge doors that led to the old Sith academy.

Traya and her companion kept walking unharmed by the ferocious beasts. In that very moment, Vodan's appetite for Force energy provoked tormenting distress making him fall on his knees. Traya sensed his involuntary wish to devour life, "You have something deep hidden within yourself, an all-consuming hunger that draws into itself everything around you."

The Sith Lord watched the beasts and had Vodan to do something,

"Absorb these creatures' signature in the Force."

Vodan straightened his hands at the storm beasts. Colorless liquid-like beams touched their bodies taking their Force energy and lifeforce away. The storm beasts would have screamed in terrible pain being devoured by an event horizon. But they didn't have enough time register it.

Vodan sucked them completely. Their physical shelters were gone, drawn into the walking abyss.

For a few moments his appetite was filled, but his Master promised, "Your hunger is severe, but once we will learn the powerful secrets within the Academy, we shall find a way to help you in ending your addiction to Force energy."

"Yes, Lord Traya.", he slowly breathed. But another question escaped his mouth, "Why, Master, why am I having this pain?"

"What happened to you it was because of the Mass Shadow Generator. A device constructed by a Zabrak engineer and designed by Revan.", Traya added trying to infuriate him, trying to turn the ravaged man to the dark side,

"REVAN!", he raised his tone in silence,

"The same crude instrument that ravaged the surface of this whole world."

"No one was supposed to live in the ensuing battle. But you did.", she smiled unnoticed by his eyes.

"You surviving the destructive the Mass Shadow Generator was one of the Force's plots in the grand schemes of things"

"In its hypocrisy, the Force brought a knife upon its own throat. It's ironic."

"You possess the power to defy its will. And maybe end it once and for all."

Traya opened the Sith Academy's massive gates with her telekinetic power. They were old and rusty, barely opening manually. But they responded to the woman's strength in the Force.

"This is the place, young one. We are here.", she looked at the colossal interior side of the old structure.

His revenge was awaiting like a beast trying to make its way out of the pit. The Dark Lord laid her hand on his shoulder and a warning followed,

"Before entering here, I must be sure of your loyalty pledged to the Sith Order."

" I already gave you my agreement.", he added,

"Your mere 'agreement' means nothing to me. If you do not learn the ways of the dark side and accept them or just for a moment you hesitate and try to walk the path of moderation, it will tear you apart. It will destroy you. There shall be no hesitation from me to end your life if you betray us."

"I think I don't understa-"

"How much would you be willing to sacrifice to meet your purpose? Would you ever going to stop, are you really ready in risking everything to fulfill your goals; even if it means to hurt the ones whom you love or love you?"

"But Mas-"

"The dark side is a dangerous and treacherous game at best. Once you have taken the path there is no turning back."

For Vodan the old woman was suddenly so a guidebook, "You still have a choice, young man. You can choose to leave from here and die with dignity on this world keeping the purity of your soul and become on with the Force, unable to take your revenge, or you can follow the path of darkness that will deform you and shall offer you powers far beyond your understanding."

Vodan's heart beat faster, his blood pumped quicker in his veins as Traya's words pierced into his soul,

"Whether the choice, there shall be consequences."

"How can one hope to love and redemption if he has already lost everything he held dear?", he added,

"Vengeance is the only thing that flows through the veins of my hands now."

The shadow smiled at the answer. And the shadow's chest puffed out with irony, filled by a sense of victory over the poor man's mind.

Knelt before her at the Academy's entrance: images and voices with him flashed in his mind. Like kids who bullied him at the orphanage, men who laughed at him because of his status in society. And these flashbacks determined him to make his final decision, "I swear to you I'll learn the dark side ways. After all what can one risk if he has lost everything?"

"Then it is done, my apprentice. We can go inside."

As the two walked, they were visited by mysterious dark side warriors dressed in black suits who used stealth generators to fool the eye. To a Force-sensitive that was not the case.

"They are what is left of Darth Revan's Guards. They are watching over this place since their Dark Lord has left them on this barren planet. But they no longer wish to serve him as he abandoned them."

"Welcome back Lord Traya.", one of the Guards added: the tone of his voice modified by the vocalizer of the mask.

Vodan wondered how did they know her and how did she know them? Unaware Traya played with him using the Force to alter his senses and shape an imaginary starship into his mind. As if she was his savior.

The ancient Sith Academy on Malachor was formed from three parts: the Crescent, located to the west, a hall with many alcoves that were frequented by Darth Revan's ex-Jedi companions who managed to hide in the old Academy before the Mass Shadow Generator was activated nullifying everything from the face of the planet. To the east, the Proving Grounds was a warren of small and cramped rooms in which many fallen Jedi trained.

The two walked, accompanied by the warriors, through the large parts of the building heading in the northern point of both wings that led to the Academy's central area, the last bit of open space before the innermost sanctum of the Academy. The Core.

The Core was a claw-like altar—suspended above a massive geyser of dark side energy—stabilized by three bridges that connected to the rest of the Sith Academy. It was created by the mysterious Sith Empire Traya learned in her historical studies. Here Darth Revan used the Core's immense power on captured Jedi to test their spirit, if they lasted its dark side powers, they were killed, if they fell they became Dark Jedi and sent to Korriban.

Traya and her Sith apprentice with the warriors walked on one of the bridges heading to the claw-like altar.

The Dark Lord ordered her Guards to form a circle around her and Vodan for initiation. Traya had him kneel into the heart of the ancient Sith Academy where his transformation to the dark side was completed under the watch of the Chaos-dwelling Sith ghosts.

Traya took her lightsabre out of her black robe and she activated it. A crimson laser blade passed over his right shoulder to left,

"The galaxy shall remember this place of death. The place where Darth Nihilus, reaper of stars, was born."

"Yes, Master.", he replied with apathy.


	2. An Immortal Ally

3955 BBY

An Immortal Ally

Chapter II

The elder woman stood in the Academy's Core with her apprentice, both shrouded in those dark energies, celebrating the defeat of Revan's four years empire next ruled by his apprentice who assumed the command, Darth Malak.

And now it was their turn to grip the galaxy into darkness.

"The two of us and a 'small' fraction of Revan's warriors will not be enough to defeat the Jedi and the Republic. We need legions to follow my command."

The man in a black robe with hooded face was intrigued about it,

"And how will we do that, Master?",

Traya imagined a world where the dark side has run very strong, and continues to. It was a symbolic world of the Sith Order: living manifestation of corruption and death. And only the most tainted ones would endure its atmosphere for long terms. Korriban.

Traya resumed the dialogue with her apprentice, "Betrayed by Malak and brainwashed by the Jedi, Revan was tasked by the Jedi Council to go on Korriban, home planet to the darkest Lords."

"There, Revan had the mission to destroy the Sith Academy by earning its Headmaster Uthar Wynn's trust; Uthar was deceived and ultimately destroyed by Revan."

"With the Headmaster's death, the students fought for his title, before eventually destroying themselves."

Though, Nihilus remembered that Revan had been once a Sith,

"Was my training in vain, after all Revan was but one of them."

The old woman laughed, amused by his childish statement,"

"No, not even close to the truth, Nihilus.",

"What do you mean with that, Master?", he was disturbed by her abrupt answer,

"Revan was a prodigal knight who used himself by their identity and power to reshape the Republic, according to his own vision, to prepare the galaxy for the True Sith. In essence, he never adhered to their code."

"How did he manage to gather such an army?", Nihilus asked her. After all, he lost contact with the outside world, spending all his time training with Traya, in secret, away from the prying eyes of Darth Revan's facade empire,

"Embracing the superficial philosophy of the Sith ways, Revan seduced many prodigal knights just like him that helped in forging a great force."

"However, that achievement was not enough to topple the Republic. Revan journeyed to Korriban to find powerful secrets. And there was the place where he found a large army of hidden Sith assassins in the command of a great Sith Marauder: Darth Sion."

"'Sion'?", Nihilus asked,

"Sion was a Sith Lord who served the infamous brief Sith Empire of the fallen Jedi turned Dark Lord Exar Kun."

"Revan reasoned with the Marauder, and they agreed to unite their forces in an attempt to bring order to the galaxy.", Traya explained to him that the empire of Revan had its very foundations in Exar Kun's force remnants,

"What's become with Sion?",

"After Revan destroyed the Sith Academy on Korriban, and defeated Malak, Lord Sion chose to stay there until a new Sith Empire, a 'true' Sith Empire shall rise once more."

"So you are seeking this Marauder?"

"Indeed, apprentice."

"That is why you must journey to Korriban and make him join our forces."

"Will he join us?", he asked his Master,

"You will learn, in time, that a good war is what a warrior seeks, not its reasons, otherwise there would not be any conflicts if soldiers would suddenly follow their own reason.", Traya revealed to him that this Sion was a physically deformed walking dead man: his body was rotten, and what kept him alive was nothing else but the dark side itself,

"Sion is a unique bred of being just as you are; different, yet very similar under a few important aspects."

"The Marauder has found a way to achieve the immortality of flesh.",

"'Flesh', how can it be?", he interrupted his woman Master,

"Of course there is a price for everything we plan to achieve in our short meaningless existence. For Sion is the intense agonizing affliction that swallows his body. The pain and hate is what keeps him alive.", Traya added her last words,

"But enough talking, we have an ally to claim, and an alliance to forge.", the elderly mastermind Dark Lord ordered her apprentice to leave Malachor,

"Men, take Lord Nihilus to the 'Decepter' transport ship.", the only functional ship on the planet,

"Yes, Lord Traya.", the raspy voiced one said.

The few, who were told by Traya to help her apprentice in completing his task, guided Nihilus at the world's surface where lay the flying ship, Nihilus standing in the middle front.

The trap door opened and they entered. The young Sith Lord wished he could fly a ship, but, to his good fortune, a warrior skilled in flying space ships assumed the Decepter's flying.

"Take a seat, Lord Nihilus, and enjoy your ride.", the raspy voiced one added activating the ship's engines reaching out of the planet's orbit.

They travelled across hot stars, dwarf stars; only Nihilus knew what else they have seen since the trip's beginning.

As they roamed the vast cosmos toward Korriban, a couple of meteors were about to smash the Decepter. Unbeknownst to him, Traya reached into his mind by tapping in the reservoir of dark side powers within the Academy's Core,

"Listen to my voice.", he blinked,

"Who's that?"

"Master, is that you?", he looked through the window to see if she was truly there. She was not,

"I established a mental link with you by using the Force, but that is not important now."

"Master thank King Adas you are here; the meteors are going to tear us apart if we don't do something, fast."

"Calm down.", the apprentice followed her advice,

"Use the power of the Force and shape with your thoughts a shield around the ship."

He took notice of Traya's words and focused himself at maximum on the transport ship's structure: an invisible field covered the Decepter as the meteors hit the Force shield and were turned to dust motes.

Nihilus kept the ship intact using the Force as they were almost near Korriban. But the hunger made its way back, and it was more severe than the last moments,

"Aaaahhhh!", he groaned in silence and agony,

"I need energy.", the Sith Lord was hungry, yet the mentor read his mind,

"Cease, you must stop!", she shouted deep inside Nihilus' head,

"I can't, it hurts me!", though Traya approached with an alternative for his torment,

"You can slowly devour their essences. It may not sate completely your hunger, but it will be enough for the pain to fade away."

He accepted the woman's advice and slowly began to suck the lifeforce and Force energy of the men in the ship, without their awareness.

As they penetrated Korriban's vapid atmosphere, the warriors started feeling sick: some were about to faint, a few threw up on the metallic floor, some felt an unusual distress that softly crossed through their bodies.

The harrowing hunger phenomenon had effects on the ship's pilot too, fortunately for Nihilus, the pilot had enough strength to safely land with the transport ship in the Valley of the Dark Lords.

As he and his companion warriors came out of the ship, Nihilus never felt something like that before: so much dark side power; so much, that he could hear the warning whispers of the fallen Dark Lords, originating from their spooky hollow burial chambers, questioning the new comers' disturbing presence.

Traya was with him all the time and she could hear them too,

"Ignore these voices of the past. Focus on your task."

"Yes, Master.", he turned his look at every tomb he could see: that of Naga Sadow, Tulak Hord's, and one of the foremost Sith Lords. Ajunta Pall's. But time was critical and Nihilus was aware they had to find this Marauder if he truly wished for his revenge to be fulfilled.

Nihilus and his fellows warriors ignored the spirits' taunts and headed to the Academy by climbing up the vale passing exactly by the infamous Shyrack Cave, the place where resided the tomb of Ludo Kressh.

He sensed the cave's strong dark side energy releases and he gazed at it, Traya hunched,

"What you see is a cave, with shyracks, where lies the final resting place of Ludo Kressh, Lord Naga Sadow's rival."

"I should enter and empty its secrets to gain a greater power. It calls me, it's so powerful. I can feel it deep within my skin.", Nihilus thought,

"That place is too powerful, even for you. You are not ready to face what is inside, at least not at your level of knowledge and skill."

"I just wonder how much power does Kressh's tomb possess?", he added his final thought and left the cave.

Nihilus was now in the front of the Sith Academy. He and his loyal soldiers were ready to find this mysterious warrior known as Darth Sion.

As they were near the huge door, it magically started to open as if it were controlled by someone inside the ruined structure,

"That's Darth Sion.", Nihilus told the warriors watching as the door unfolded before them.

The door opened, and fourteen Sith hounds, known as Tuk'ata, ambushed Nihilus and his men. He leaped back three meters away igniting his red lightsabre taking the defense position; the warriors attacked the Tuk'atas with their Force Pikes, cortosis sabres, and war blades.

That pack of hounds scratched the warriors' suits and skin with their deadly claws, sinking their sharp fangs into the warriors' heads.

All the men fell before his eyes, and a need to help them occured into his mind, but the apprentice prevented his impulsive action. If they died, then they were weak in the Force. And therefore, they deserved their fate.

"I won't waste my strength to help you, you outlived your usefulness. I'll take advantage of your suffering to increase my power and destroy these beasts."

"No! Please, help us, Lord Nihilus!", they so desperately begged for his help,

"If you were in my position, you would have done the same to me."

"But we can still be useful to you.", they added,

"You are more useful to me dead than alive. Now, goodbye.", the apprentice stole their Force essences and stored them into himself appeasing his hunger temporarily and increasing his own power in the Force. He felt so good, so powerful, and so invincible, that he broke his mental link with his teacher; no need to hear her voice deep within his skull.

His crimson blade struck down some of Tuk'atas' skin, piercing their hearts and skulls. But the speed of the creatures was too much for him. His Force perceptions were still not formed at the phases of a trained sensitive. The sheer physical strength of the Tuk'atas overwhelmed him; but Nihilus resisted. The hounds ambushed the man, again, but the apprentice approached his hands building up massive telekinetic energy in his palms. He jumped back, avoiding the attacks of the hounds, pouring his hate and anger into the telekinetic blast.

Once it was charged, Nihilus made the Tuk'atas to involuntary form a row. As the beasts gathered to land a final blow, the apprentice released the telekinetic blast. It was powerful enough to disintegrate those pets. Such was Nihilus' own power.

The enigmatic Marauder saw the traveler through his use of Force perception. Deep in the darkness, he spoke,

"Interesting. Let him get inside.", the unannounced guest earned his credibility.

He stepped inside the school, walking the halls through the ruined structure, following the presence of the enigmatic darksider.

As Nihilus took the trail of the Marauder's dark side aura, a couple of twenty assassins with cloaking generators attacked the Sith apprentice.

His lightsabre skills were of no use as the assassins were more experienced in holding a laser sword.

The assassins aimed at his legs, the chest, and the head. Nihilus predicted their swift attacks, rapidly moving his lightsabre to dodge their vicious blows.

He and his enemies pierced their red lightsabres into walls, damaged boxes, ceramic pots.

The silent fighters struck Nihilus without hesitation, hitting him by the harsh cold walls with a telekinetic wave, disarming him.

Nihilus quickly stood up and Force pulled back his lightsabre that was on the ground. Nihilus, then, Force hurled four assassins a few meters away from him by waving his right hand, crushing their bodies to atomic level.

Nihilus positioned himself like a womb gathering enough Force power to unleash a telekinetic blast. Nihilus floated in the air as he groaned and frowned his eyebrows, concentrating the telekinetic blast's energy.

Two seconds next, and the telekinetic explosion blasted the Sith assassins into oblivion, no single trace of them remained. The blast made its way throughout all the Academy, shaking its very foundations. The dark side was strong with Nihilus, and this was just the beginning. The released telekinetic blast exhausted him, too much for a novice.

The mysterious dark figure decided it would be the time to show himself.

With no other possible danger in his path, Nihilus was free to follow the dark side energy mark of the Marauder. Walking many ruined halls and rooms, he reached into the Academy's center place, when a deformed living rotten corpse appeared out of nowhere before him, coming with a large number of Sith assassins,

"Who are you and what's your purpose here?", the Sith Marauder added with a cold expression on his face,

"Join our forces on Malachor Five, and we will take our revenge on the Jedi.", he pointed at the Marauder,

"Join your 'forces'?", Sion cracked his teeth,

"It will take more than that to convince me.",

"Join my Master Traya's deadly forces, and we shall bring down the Republic.", Nihilus added in response to Sion's answer,

"If your forces are so 'deadly', how is it that I never heard of you, how is it that you need my help?", he was speechless as Sion spoke,

"I served an empire that almost destroyed the Jedi if not for one's monumental betrayal. Lord Exar Kun would have brought the Golden Age of the Sith if not for his grandiose death that left us scattered across the galaxy.",

"It will take you more than your simple 'reasons' to make me join you.", Sion gently lay his right decomposed hand on the lightsabre,

"Then it seems I must use the 'combat language'.", Nihilus took his lightsabre from the belt, activating it,

"Now you have captured my attention.", Sion ignited his own,

"Stand back.", the assassins stepped backward forming a circle: some stood on ruined concrete remains, a few lay their bodies on the walls, others stood on their own feet with crossed arms.

A contest skill and power was about to take place, with the assassins as eye-witnesses.

The Marauder jumped in the air straightening his lightsabre's bloody laser blade to pierce the visitor. Nihilus leaped back as Sion's blade's edge penetrated the stoned floor.

With the lightsabre's edge stuck into the floor, Nihilus took advantage of the situation, and telekinetically tossed the Sith Marauder cracking the wall with him. Large dusty concrete pieces collapsed over his decayed body, pressing tension over his flesh, crushing his rotten limbs. Sion howled in pain, throwing off the concrete pieces with a telekinetic explosion.

Sion took his lightsabre back from the ground and burst with speed. Nihilus tightened his hands holding the lighsabre, ready to parry the blow. Sion's blade strike overpowered Nihilus's physical strength creating enough tension to hurl him a few meters back.

As he launched, the Marauder caught him into a medium sized Force whirlwind, spinning him through all the centre room. As he was suspended into a whirlwind, Nihilus threw his lightsabre with the Force to slice Sion. As the blade of the lightsabr ecame, Sion caught it with his bare hands using the umbrella technique. Sion cracked his teeth again looking at Nihilus' lightsabre, taking it as if it were his own. Seeing his blade being stolen, as if a part of him was violated, Nihilus got angry: he let his rage and hatred to flow through him, filling his body with adrenaline and dark side power. He got free of Sion's Force whirlwind unleashing a telekinetic blast, demolishing a couple of Sith assassins, and slamming Sion by another stone wall.

As he landed on his knees and got up, he retracted his lightsabre's crimson blade placing it back to his belt. As Sion barely stood up from the floor, he choked the Marauder the dark side of the Force, lifting him up in the air, taking his opponent's lightsabre.

Claiming the fallen foe's weapon, he telekinetically slammed Sion by the Academy's center chamber's ceiling, by the right wall, the left one, and once again hitting the Marauder by the ceiling. The impact implanted Sion for five seconds in the ceiling, and then he slowly collapsed on the floor.

Nihilus tightened his both fists covered by his black cloves priming another telekinetic blast: as Sion shook his head hardly opening his hideous rotten eyes, a straight wave of telekinetic energy blasted his body through three rooms, shattering his flesh, tearing apart his body parts.

Has he killed the infamous Marauder, has he failed his Sith Master, he wondered himself of the consequences of his possible failure. Sion did not die, though, he survived,

"Don't be so happy of your doing, I cannot be killed.", he watched the Sith Marauder's body parts floating in the air, attaching themselves back together. That was the power which Traya described in her stories. Two things kept Sion to be functional: the dark side, and his telekinetic power.

As the Sith Marauder came back, he quickly pulled his own lightsabre back from his opponent's fingers. Nihilus took again his lightsabre, reactivating it, ready to face the fearsome Marauder.

For their impressive duel they had in the Academy, Sion deactivated his lightsabre.

"You are enormously powerful in the Force. I haven't met such as you since the fall of the first empire I served."

"Exar Kun was the strongest Sith Lord in my eye, yet it took him more time than you to defeat me in raw power and subdue me when I defied him. You are even stronger than Lord Revan himself."

"Although, I have to confess that your skills with a lightsabre are sloppy."

"What can I say, I'm training just for a few years."

The Marauder had disdain for meaningless discussions and resumed to the subject,

"Just follow the main goals of our conversation."

"As you say, Lord Sion.", Nihilus approached the Marauder shaking their hands,

"Let's inform your Master about their new ally."

"Then it is done.", he said while Sion's assassins were ready for their leader's order,

"Take only what you need, we're heading to Malachor V.", the Marauder instructed his personal assassins.

Nihilus came out of the Academy, side by side with Darth Sion, walking on the crackle soil and lifeless cold sand.

As they headed to the transport ship, Nihilus tried talking with Sion, although the Sith Marauder rarely spoke and he did it only for concrete talks.

They returned in the Valley of the Dark Lords, and the whispers that haunted Nihilus and his dead men, they were gone: his trespassing was forgotten, his presence was accepted.

"Now, let's leave this wretched place.", he gazed at Korriban's tombs, ready for a new destiny.

The Decepter penetrated Malachor's obnoxious atmosphere as perpetual flashes of lightning emerged and faded away.

At the Academy's spaceship port: a pair of Sith Guards was waiting for them.

"At last, Malachor. The legends were true, it is indeed a potent world of darkness.", Sion watched the Academy's imposing but mysterious structure, sensing the dark side energy bursting from inside as he laid his rotten fingers on its walls.

The Sith Assassins were told personally by his Master to come in the Proving Grounds, while he and Sion were instructed to go in the Core. The Marauder agreed with Lord Traya's terms and followed the Master's student into the planet's dark heart.

Deep within the darkness, Lord Traya sensed Sion's presence, although she could not feel that of Nihilus.

As the two descended passing the claw altar, Nihilus' Master was awaiting, disappointed,

"Look, Sion's here, my lord.", Nihilus bowed his head for his mentor,

"You defied my word!", she gripped her apprentice with the Force,

"Mas-chhhk, chaaa!", he groaned placing his hands at his neck.

Traya used the dark side torturing him with purple Force lightning, quarrelling with him; then she let him free of her Force grasp. Nihilus was puzzled of why she did that,

"Why, Master?", he was brought on his knees, trembling,

"You may have completed the task for which you were assigned with, but you disobeyed my will. You interrupted our mental contact, although I did not instruct you to do so."

Sion looked at them, but said nothing to prevent their argue, for him the verbal and physical violence was something normal.

"Isn't what a Sith does?", he asked his teacher,

"When you have a great goal and can be achieved, yes, but not what you have done there."

"Treachery, manipulation, isn't that of a Sith, that's what I thought?"

"I did not punish you for your mere disobedience. These traits such as betrayal and deception are the foremost tools of a Sith to a certain purpose.", she explained to him,

"You were punished because you do not know how to use these tools and when.", she looked at Nihilus followed by a feeling of superiority and indifference,

"Yes, Master.", he stood up, barely recovering from the purple lightning sparkles that crossed through all of his body and made him to collapse on the altar's cold floor.

"Who are you, if may I ask?", Sion said watching her as she wrangled her apprentice.

The old woman took off her hood: withered pale face, black eyes, and white hair,

"You. . .", Sion said as if he has seen her face before,

"I know you."

Nihilus stared at both, curious of their conversation, and what mystery revolved around Traya that the Marauder knew.

"We fought in the Great Sith War as enemies. I remember your face. You were Kreia, a Jedi Master of the Council."

The fine old woman put the black hood back on her head covering her half of the face after she revealed her identity,

"I was once of them, indeed. But every man is subjected to the process of change, even a Jedi."

The Marauder hated the Jedi with all of his heart, and Traya was one,

"A broken Jedi, that's what you are.", Sion said to her with vile and hate activating his lightsabre to strike her down by chopping off her head. Traya predicted his action with the Force and quickly pulled it from his hands with her telekinetic abilities. Traya Force gripped Sion, lifting him up in the air, burning his decayed flesh with intense purple lightning bursts; Sion's body resisted her destructive sparks and took back his lightsabre from Traya's left fragile hand, taking advantage of her overconfidence.

"Another must learn what is the price for disobedience!", she said slamming his body by the claw altar's parts and the cold floor.

Traya crunched his body with the Force, breaking his old bones. Sion felt the agonizing pain of his fractured limbs, accepting Traya's story about her severing ties with the Jedi Order.

"Stop, Lord Traya.", he said with his knees being torn,

"I see now the truth about your 'claim'!"

"Good, then.", she looked at the Marauder as he fused back together his fractured limbs at the same shape they were before.

"You are unique, Sith Lord, you know that?"

"'Unique'?"

"Your hate and rage is what keeps you 'alive'. You have so much promise, Marauder."

"I could teach you aspects of the Force that a few are privileged to know."

The Marauder thought about his rich past: of his victories and losses, of his ups and downs. Since his life as a Sith in Exar Kun's service and that of Darth Revan, Sion knew only two things—the battlefield and how to carry a lightsabre in his hands when faced an enemy. Force skill and knowledge was what he needed the most, and this woman might have offered him the things now he wished them to have.

"Take me under your wings, Lord Traya. Teach me the hidden lore of the Sith.", Sion kneeled in front of her with Nihilus on Traya's right side.

"So I will, Lord Sion."


	3. A Peek Into The Past

A Peek Into The Past

Chapter III

Nihilus' black robe fluttered, his eyes, icy, as usually, somewhat being distant from the people around him or the room where he was staying.

He was sitting on a softy brown chair looking through the window at the unbearable landscape's lightning storms that were constantly striking Malachor's surface.

He was there for some time, staring for a couple of hours at the harrowing landscape, anointed by a feeling of death. Nihilus Force altered his perceptions: he drew his consciousness out of the body and began watching the planet with the eye of the mind.

He saw the storm beasts fighting each other, scratching their skin, sinking their fangs. He took notice of the world's heavy atmosphere: the crackle soil, the perpetual flashes of lightning that were burning the cold surface. Even now he could hear the screams of all those whom he devoured to quell his immeasurable hunger.

The world's barren landscape reminded him of certain things, something familiar in his eyes, despite he has never set foot on the planet before.

While Traya and Sion were trying to know each other better, Nihilus had enough time to meditate in his gloomy chamber, where no bit of light would permeate it.

Nihilus stood relaxed in his softy cortosis chair watching the bizarre weather, sunk into his own thoughts. The uncanny weather pierced his heart, taking certain past events back to present. His eyes focused on the window, his mind, drawn into it. The memories were like a dark blue vortex, spinning to no end in his imagination.

He saw Onderon through the vortex of imagination: his home.

It was like any other normal day at the Malgan Market. Every weapon, relic, or miscellaneous merchant tried to take a good credit on their stuff.

Though business was hard, Vodan's father knew how to handle customers and take a lot of value, he had enough experience in the work field. These days were the best for Cylnus' business as the worlds were at war. Cylnus took some good credits for his weapon stand. He has done the family's work since the ancient Republic's times.

With Onderon's crisis, Cylnus was forced seldomly to make arrangements with mercenaries, crime lords, or bounty hunters.

Cylnus had anything for anyone who were ready to instill conflicts. Accuracy laser blasters, Force pikes, lightsabre pieces, natural lightsabre crystals, enchanted stones, cortosis sabres, average sized spaceship parts, field mines, sonic grenades, ion grenades, astromech droids, practically everything a man wanted to have.

With all the credits Cylnus had on the stuff he sold, he couldn't afford a stable home for his family. That was their home and their only source of income.

"A client, son. Go and see what does he want."

"Yes, dad."

Vodan's father hurt his back yesterday when he tried to lift up a heavy box that contained a mesh alloy suit.

"Yes, what do you wish?", he watched the green Twi'lek stranger dressed in a dark robe. He didn't see his face quite perfectly, but he could see his yellow eyes, his shaking of legs, as if someone was on his tracks. Vodan had a strange sensation about this alien. Deep inside, he knew there's something wrong with the stranger.

"A red lightsabre crystal and a few field mines. Fast!", the alien spoke with a powerful tone,

"Right away, sir.", he went at the weapon store searching for one while his father lay inside with his hurt back groaning in silence to not disturb their clients.

The Weapon Store was very big: a room with three brown beds, one for him, for his father and his mother. It had a locker for laser guns, for suits, boxes for lightsabre crystals. His father even had a work bench for those who wished to repair their weapons.

Vodan pressed a button with his right index finger opening a crystal box. Indeed, there were a variety of colors: blue, orange, green, yellow, purple, white, grey, but the client ordered a red one.

He came at the alien with the crimson crystal, placing it on the stand's ironed table. The Twi'lek asked for its value,

"How much does it cost?", the alien said with that black hood concealing his face.

"Five hundreds of credits."

"I don't have that much. What about one hundred credits?", the alien replied.

"No can do, sir. Sorry.", Vodan added.

"I see..."

Suddenly, Vodan felt a powerful pressure around his neck. He couldn't breath!

"Listen to me, weakling. Take my credits or die here. Either way I'll take that crystal."

Vodan saw it. He understood that this alien was a sensitive in the Force. And he knew it wasn't a good idea to cross your paths with one of them, especially one who would murder you in plain sight.

"But, but, you have to respect the law.", Vodan tried to reason with the Force sensitive,

"Heed my words carefully: laws are always made by the strong ones to control the weak ones, and nothing can change that. Never forget, human.", the green Twi'lek released Vodan from his Forceful grip.

Vodan cleared his throat,

"Are you a Sith?"

Vodan heard about them from his father's tales and knew that the Sith Lords weren't some whom you should be joking with.

"My dad told me about the Dark Lords. He once said to me that his own father would have fallen had he not found love. He explained to me how the Sith are capable of distorting the sense of reality through the power they possess and promote in their beliefs."

"There is only one reality, boy: that of power. Those who are powerful in the Force are able to warp reality to their own liking. The Sith only do what is natural in the universe. The Jedi are the real perverted here. They chain these worlds with their philosophical theories that stand no ground in nature. There is only darkness, and that darkness gives power. The light is just unrestrained strength."

"What's your name, sir?", Vodan asked,

"My pitiful past has been long forgotten, wholly swallowed by the dark side. Those people, who died by my blade, used to call me: Talis.

"A 'Darth'?", Vodan said,

"I never said I was one of them. But I do see truth in their words. I adhere to that truth, but I am not one of their order. May I be one day? Perhaps."

Talis sensed a presence that was getting closer and closer. There was no more time to waste on philosophy: "Anyway, take my credits. Be glad I am still willing to give it to you.", the alien put the credits on the table and took the red crystal and the four field mines.

"A good day, then.", he watched Talis' back as he left.

The clients never ended; day and night, especially on Onderon which was a good weaponry source for visitors and its inhabitants.

This day was too quiet. There were clients at the stand, but their number was small in comparison with most of the time.

Vodan believed that his work for today was done and could do something in his spare-time. All that changed when a mysterious figure came before his very eyes: a two-legged bizarre creature, very ugly at first sight, carrying a weird staff, accompanied by another four-legged freaky creature.

The stranger wore a dark robe too just like the last client, though Vodan could see the down part of his awkward hands. He saw the alien's pale pointed nose and ears, his hairless white face marked with strange symbols.

"Do you sell any spaceship parts, human?", the alien held his scepter,

"What 'parts', may I ask?", he looked at the alien shaking his scepter.

The pale alien took it from his hidden pockets: a strange device, it shook a little before it exploded and spilled black blood over his stand table.

Vodan never saw such technology before, not even his father provided him with such things in his tales,

"Sorry, I... don't..."

"Excuse us for interrupting you, then.", "Fas!", the alien said on his native language. The alien ran with his pet from the stand, only to disappear as they appeared.

These were the last clients for today, and Vodan couldn't wait to see his mother: Kashya Tenebb.

Kashya was a peace maker of her own onderonian foundation known as the 'Hope': with funds from her husband and the people. Her movement was insignificant for the entire worlds outside Onderon's solar system, especially now when the galaxy was a lot more worried about the Mandalorian threat and the Jedi's decision about it.

Despite her great position, Kashya chose to be a moral example for people. She decided to live in the unpleasant condition of her family, and her man agreed with the idea if his wife could bring an improvement to these civilizations.

While he was moving some boxes out of the store to the stand, a space shuttle penetrated into the planet's atmosphere, flying over Iziz.

Vodan heard its nozzle sounds, saw the ship model in the sky, as it came near the spaceship port, and he knew it was his mother's personal ship.

"Dad, mother is back.", he said to his father without apparent excitement, though on the inside he was more than happy to see her again.

"Wait for me. Don't go.", Cylnus got up placing his right hand on his hurt back.

He and his father ran to her. And there, a crowd of people was around her, asking her for autographs, cheering her name,

"Kashya, Kashya, Kashya!", she smiled at them as the wind fluttered her yellow long hair, and the rays of the sun reflected into her blue eyes. She had the beauty of a Sephi. Wherever she would go, light followed.

"Mom, mom, here!", he smiled and loudly called for her mother; Cylnus did the same but it was quite hard for him and his cheeks blushed when he put too much effort standing on his feet.

She was beautiful both inside and outside. But her greatest achievement was her son: Vodan Tenebb. She was very proud of him and she always had something to say about her son in her countless conferences.

Vodan was the reason she tried to improve these civilizations. In her eyes, he was a good man, a honest person.

"My Vodan!", she said with excitement hugging her son and caressing his face, then she released him.

"Kashya!", he took her in his arms, kissing her lips.

"Really? I am here, dear people.", Vodan rolled his eyes over.

"How are my men today?", she chuckled. They were the same, they never changed.

"You know, mom. Just merchant stuff as usually.", he walked alongside his father and mother back to their Weapon Store. Of course, he wanted to tell them about what happened at the stand, but he cared too much for their parents' safety. Talis might have come back to slay his family if he ever found Vodan was the one who revealed his deeds on this planet.

"What happened, Cy'?", Kashya checked her husband's back to see if he was fine,

"Hurt my back tryin' to take a box. I'll be fine soon, don't worry, honey.", he groaned a bit feeling the pain of his back.

"I have a surprise for you, guys."

"What?", Vodan asked,

"We can leave Onderon for Coruscant. We can leave all this behind."

But the sudden change frightened Cylnus. He always knew her as someone who 'enjoyed' living in harsh conditions. And Coruscant offered the opposite: luxury beyond the wildest dreams.

"Not sure about that. What are we gonna do there? Why you suddenly decided to do that?", he blinked and moaned for his lack of sleep,

"We have an assured place on Coruscant. And Vodan finally has the chance to go to a university. People now know enough about us, there's no further reason to humble ourselves.", she paused and sighed, "You know that Vodan is the most important thing to me. I wish to see him there among the elite of Coruscant where his skills would be noticed and improved. You know he'd make a great diplomat. He is a star that needs to shine. I have observed his attraction to the Jedi lore a long time ago. Maybe it's a shame, but your father was a good Jedi in the end, Cy'. Maybe you can show his grandfather's holocron to our son. He'd learn much about diplomacy from it."

"We have a Jedi holocron!?", Vodan asked with curiosity,

"You know that my father blocked my Force connections because I wasn't willing to follow him in his path to self destruction.", Cylnus said to his wife,

"Oh, yes, I forgot about it. Still it continues to haunt me this concepts of lust for power and control. It's amazing how these two can turn even the noblest of beings into hideous monsters."

Kashya was about to drop tears as she said those words, "Thank the Force my son is just like me. I'd rather have him be like the most than someone gifted with powers who is sure to lose his soul."

Vodan watched her but no words came from his mouth.

"So, what do you say, Cy'?"

"You're the wise one in this family, not me. Whatever you say, you know you'll be there to support you."

Out of nowhere, a Chiss male, with a fancy red uniform, interrupted their conversation,

"Greetings, peacemaker Kashya Tenebb. My name is Akynto Bees: the representative sent by the Republic. I have come to take you."

"Strange, I am sure they informed me otherwise."

"Plans changed, my lady Kashya.", he bowed,

"Then let's go guys.", she called them,

"I am afraid this visit is only meant for you. The Republic has changed their minds regarding the date when your son and the husband are scheduled to come on Coruscant. But your husband may come and help you with your conference. The Republic would need to look at the things from a low class worker's perspective."

"This is outrageous, representative Bees. How can the Republic do this to us?!", she frowned,

"That's politics. Always this happens in politics, my lady."

"Fine, then.", she sighed.

"Vodan, I promised you something and I intend to hold on that promise. Stay here and take care of the shop. When this ends I am going to take you to Coruscant.", she smiled at her son, "And then you can be a diplomat as you always wanted to be."

Akynto coughed with intention, "Sorry to interrupt your discussion, but we need to leave, my lady."

The spaceship's trapdoor closed and Kashya said her goodbyes to Vodan.

After they left Onderon, Vodan resumed his activites until the nightfall.

Voices woke him up: panic and pain hung in the refreshing atmosphere of morning.

Men, women, and children cried with tears in their eyes.

Vodan got up to see what's happening, coming out from the gloomy Weapon Store.

"I can't believe she's really gone.", a blond hair man lay his shoulder over her wife's left shoulder, mourning.

But what?

Kashya's death!

"Kashya is dead, people. We must do something!", a man shouted in hopes to draw their attention.

"No...", Vodan kneeled placing his hands on the ground,

"WHY!?", he punched the ground with his right fist, groaning in utter pain.

As Vodan wondered himself what happened with his parents, the Chiss figure once more arrived on Onderon.

The people yelled asking for answers from the blue alien as he walked in the Malgan Market, though they were held at distance by the Chiss' four bodyguards wearing Republic armors and stun batons.

The gentle Chiss came to Vodan, tasked, to tell him about his parents' death. He saw the blue alien before him as he dropped tears of despair and anger,

"I was sent by the Republic to tell you about the tragic death of your parents. It seems that the leader of Revanchists, Revan, is responsible for this. He had someone to fire in the space shuttle of your parents when they headed back to you. Probably, they thought they were Mandalorians."

"'Revan', how can it be?", he slowly got up on his feet, groaning again,

"Politics is very dangerous for people, your mother included.", the Chiss added,

"But do not despair, my boy. We will take you to Barcx's Children House. Given you are eighteen years old and with no studies in marketing, the orphanage would be just a good place for those like you.", the Chiss said with the hands behind his back.

"Then, let's go.", Vodan wiped his tears.

After a few hours of 'pod racing' around the Onderon, they arrived at the orphanage,

"That's it, boy.", Bees, the Chiss, pressed the door's button to call for the one who ran this place,

"Alright, Am comin'!", Bees heard his voice through the door's communication speaker.

The door opened automatically and a bulky Besalisk appeared,

"What d' you want!?", he cracked his teeth at the sight of the two beings,

"I brought him to the orphanage. Another has lost his parents."

"I see...", the Besalisk looked at the boy when the Chiss smiled with vile.

"So, can I let him on your hands, Barcx?"

The four-armed creature chuckled,

"Yes, of course."

"Then we're done.", the dark blue Chiss turned his back and left.

"Get inside, boy.", he said to him frowning his gaze,

Vodan was speechless and did what the Besalisk ordered.

At the first look, the orphanage was nowhere near to what Bees described him, let alone that it was a remote building hidden deep in the Onderon's woods. The place was a real catastrophe, with bare life conditions.

Inside was cold, the tables were rusty, and there was some droid parts garbage on the icy floor.

"What's this place?", Vodan asked,

"Your new 'home', boy.", the alien laughed leaving him while someone else was coming to lead him to the Children Chambers.

A vile Neimodian, with dirt on his red suit, grabbed him, almost squashing his left arm, kicking his butt when Vodan swore him.

Vodan walked the dark and spooky halls with the Neimodian and got next to a large room with many people of his age: a few humans and the rest of them Wookiees, Bothans, Zabraks, two red Chagrians, a Gektl, and an Elomin.

"Here is your new mate.", the filthy alien kicked his butt again, closing the door afterwards.

The room had thirteen floating beds, a heat generator barely functioning to keep the warm inside, three seal windows in the left side, seven red light bulbs on the grey ceiling, surveillance cameras in each corner and at the door. In the room there was a flying drone too, instructed to punish the children if they defied Barcx or his 'employees'.

"We have a fresh, here, boys.", an eighteen years old Gektl smirked swinging his red tail up and down,

Vodan couldn't say a word to that hellish alien,

"Did the Krath eat your tongue?", he smirked again.

Vodan lay by the closed door: his heart beat faster, his blood warmed up, he was scared.

"Boys, let's initiate our fresh into the group.", he said to them with apparent malice.

They approached Vodan: they took off his pants, and dripped a bucket of dirty water on his face. The aliens were amused for his embarrassing situation,

"Is it enough Krell?", a Wookiee was not sure of the shame the new one was subjected to,

"Let him alone, Gassaj.", the Elomin spoke to him from the right side of his bed,

"He knows now how the things are here. He might be more useful to you if you'd just leave him.", the Elomin gazed at the seal windows with indifference,

"I think the Elomin's right, let him go, boys.", the Gektl felt that he was persuaded by an unnatural force to stop bullying Vodan.

"Thanks, who're you?", he saw the Elomin approaching,

"Gyz, just Gyz.", his uniform was white and his black eyes were like sucked of life,

"Thanks Gyz."

"But what're you doing you here in Barcx's Selection Group Area?", the savior alien asked,

"'Selection Group Area'?", Vodan kept his eyes half-closed,

"In this place, we are picked to join the Neo-Crusade movement, or sold as slaves.", the alien put his palm over his mouth to conceal his words,

"They are analyzing our bodies, and make the last choice."

"How did you make it, Gyz? I see you know more than these guys. Sure you did something. You don't have a body fighter."

The alien doubted for a moment, he hesitated, he clasped his hands,

"Don't tell anyone, but I can use the Force. That's how I remained untouched."

Vodan blinked thrice taking a deep breath, sighing,

"Then take us out of here. Now.", Vodan desperately grabbed the alien's shoulders,

"I can't. At best I can do these cheap tricks in this place.", the alien shrugged off but turned back to Vodan,

"These guys have Ysalmiri, and can use them if a Force sensitive tries to escape. It is their method to protect themselves."

"What about the sensitives?"

"KILLED without a doubt. Either because they would have defied them and ruin their business, or they would have become galactic threats."

As they spoke, Gyz felt a disturbing presence,

"What is it, Gyz?", he asked the alien to see if he is alright,

"I see a dark figure, a Chiss dressed in a Republic suit.", Gyz noticed the alien's skin and his four bodyguards,

"The representative Bees.", Vodan said to him.

Gyz used his Force perception as the Chiss moved through the isolated halls with his armed fancy men reaching into the Besalisk's office.

Gyz knew there was something wrong with the Chiss, and decided to read his thoughts.

Bees was no Republic representative, he was working as a personal bounty hunter for the Crime Lord Barcx on Muunulist who was tasked to destroy Kashya: as she was a threat for intergalactic crime business. He lied to their son, framing-up the rebel Jedi Knight Revan, a good goat since he was seen as a menace for the galaxy by the Jedi Order. Even with this revelation, Vodan still blamed Revan for his parents' demise. From his point of view, Revan should have used his amazing powers to slay these crime lords instead of fighting against the Mandalorians.

Gyz explained to the Besalisk as concrete and short as possible about the whole situation surrounding Vodan's parents.

Vodan was infuriated. He punched the part of the wall next to the first seal window with his slender fist. Deep insid,e he blamed himself for it, he'd have wished to stop his parents from leaving and see the Chiss impostor dead for good. He'd have strangled the Chiss so intensive that blood would erupt from his eyes. If he had the Force, he'd just crush each bone of his body and heal him only to repeat the process.

But when Vodan finally came to his senses, he saw them. The Chiss with the men and the Besalisk chief entered the room,

"The Selection has begun, Vodan. I am sorry.", the alien Elomin said.

Barcx's man, Bees, had his four bodyguards to see who is going to be a slave or a Mandalorian warrior,

"Begin the Selection.", the Chiss added by staring at the isolated landscape, with green trees, through the second seal window, with a cold look, petting his soft beard.

The Nautolan bodyguards took every eighteen years old one, and forced them to stand in a line lying their back by the cold unpleasant wall. The bodyguards took notice of the following: their limbs, the strength of the muscles, the durability of their hand and leg bones.

The Wookiees passed chosen as Mandalorian warriors, same for the Bothans or the Zabraks.

The procedure was done in fifteen minutes, and the Chiss was ready to tell them who are the slaves,

"Chagrians, you did not pass."

The Gektl Krell smirked, unnoticed, sure of himself to his own rank in the hierarchy of the Neo-Crusaders.

"The Devaronian, you did not pass as well.", the Chiss coughed for the small mass of dust which reached into his lungs.

Vodan was afraid, he hated wars and slavery, so he hid under a bed to not be taken away. The Besalisk was old enough, and he kept forgetting many things day by day, he might have forgotten about Vodan. However, the Chiss did not give a penny about them: for him they were simple 'products'. He had no reason to keep in mind their faces or their names. He didn't want to get familiar with them, that would have only ruined his job.

The Gektl was enraged beyond words. He jumped over a Nautolon's back choking the bodyguard's head with his green tail twisting it.

"STOP HIM!", the Chiss shouted as the other three bodyguards caught Krell,

"I will do it!", the Chiss picked up the dead Nautolon's stun baton, electrifying the Gektl.

With the Gektl subdued, Gyz followed,

"Take the Elomin too.", Bees pointed at him with his right hand finger covered by a white glove.

Gyz was scared, and there was only one way to escape this.

The Elomin took power from the Force, playing with the Chiss , Besalisk , and Nautolons' minds, skipping over his selection.

"Sorry, Vodan", Gyz said when the Chiss came next to a bed and saw Vodan.

"No, please!", the Nautolons grabbed him by the arms as he screamed,

"I'll never forget what you've done to me.", he said to the Elomin: now looking at him with hatred and contempt.

The door automatically closed and Gyz was the only one left in the darkness of the room. Gyz clasped his hands and mourned inside himself,

'Sorry, I didn't want to do that. One day you might understand.'

They escorted Vodan to a slave ship next to the warrior ship outside of Barcx's Children House,

"Here's your credits from the Mandalorians, mister Kilp.", Bees said to the Besalisk,

"A pleasure as always.", Kilp responded by taking the credits from Bess' hands.

Akynto Bees entered the ship, ordering his men to take Vodan in the Slave Room and imprison him into a circular stasis cage.

Bees instructed the ship's pilot to go in the Malachor system, but somewhere safe from the eyes of the war.

The engines turned on, the nozzles' flames burst, releasing vibrations that spread throughout the woods, and the space ship ascended in the skies in a blink, penetrating Onderon's atmosphere, disappearing into the vastness of cosmos.

After hours of space travel, the Chiss finally made it:

the Malachor system.

Bees, sitting on his chair, contacted the Mandalorian ship's Commander, Jad Kay Two,

"Commander Kay, I brought you the promised slaves."

"Excellent.", his voice sounded through the tridimensional hologram.

Bees turned off the ship's comlink and had his pilot to land inside Kay's Mothership.

During their landing, Bees released Vodan and the others from their stasis cages and came out with the slaves in the Hangar Room: a hundred one meters compartment full of imposing Mandalorian hardened warriors.

When slaves were brought on his ship, Jad Kay always came to see them, to be sure he isn't fooled.

They were held in handcuffs connected to a blue luminous chain.

Jad inspected them, studying their body language, to know what they were capable of and not.

The two red Chagrians were scared, the Gektl Krell was angry but terrified, where Vodan was filled with anger and hate, looking with disdain at the Commander.

Jad sensed the slave's apathy and wanted to enrage him,

"Go and clean our ship, slave."

"No!", Vodan crossed his arms cracking his teeth,

"Really?", unobserved by the slave, he had two Mandalorians to torture him.

"What are you doing!?', he screamed out loud,

The two stunned him with their batons, scratched his right eye with the hot touch of a Mandalorian blade.

"Aaah!", Vodan yelled as the blade's edge touched his eye.

Then he learned that hope and faith was in vain, no one came to help them.

Where were the fighters of freedom, peace and justice? Where were these so-called Jedi?

Yet his torture only ended when Jad's inferior came to him,

"My lord, Mandalore the Ultimate contacted me a few moments earlier. He ordered us to go on Malachor Five."

"Also he said that the Mothership slaves should go there too. If we fall in battle at least the slaves will die with us at once."

"Then, let's go.", Jad turned his back leaving the slaves in the hangar room,

"Men, take them into the Prison Chambers.", Jad said to them while he was leaving with his inferior.

They were in another stasis cage, though much bigger, as well with many more slaves.

When Vodan tried to know them better, after another hours of space travel, Jad Kay's Mandalorian Mothership, alongside others, arrived on Malachor Five prepared for the battle with the Revanchist forces led by Revan, his friend Alek, and the general, Meetra Surik. In the Commander Bridge room, Jad was contacted again by Mandalore the Ultimate,

"Commander Jad, escort the slaves in our transport slave ships and bring them on Malachor. There might be 'behind surprises' when we battle Revan."

"Yes, Mandalore the Ultimate.", Jad ended the transmission.

As the battle began and the slave transport ships were brought on the dark side world, Mandalore the Ultimate was wrong: his doing was an utter failure.

Realizing the war's favor balance, Mandalore the Ultimate ordered all the slave transport ships to be escorted on a remote planet known only by them.

It was too late, Mandalore the Ultimate died by Revan's hands, and the planet was engulfed by the destructive sky-abyss of the Mass Shadow Generator.

And now his mind reached out from the spire of thoughts slowly returning back to reality.

"Lord Nihilus, Lord Traya has requested your presence.", a Dark Jedi entered his room.

The Sith Lord stood up from his brown chair and left the room with the lone fallen Jedi reaching into the black heart of the planet,

"What's thy bidding, Master Traya?"

"I have another assignment for you. But you are going to like this one."


	4. Hunger Unleashed

Hunger Unleashed

Chapter IV

"What do you ask of me, my master?", Nihilus said, with a bowed stance, in the Trayus Core,

"Finally a real task for you outside of this planet.", Traya added,

"What task?"

Traya had a special plan with her apprentice: a trial to test his loyalty for the Sith Order, to see what he would do in certain circumstances. She knew he was not forced to take major decisions in the name of the Sith. So far she has simply molded him into darkness, building a fragile dark cocoon over his soul and mind, but it was his decision if he'd have totally succumbed to the dark side or he would reject it. Training himself in the ways of the Sith and getting disposed of insignificant individuals had no relevance to the order. Far from it. Traya knew about Nihilus' past and she was eager to see if he would destroy a world for the sake of his bearer of suffering: Akynto Bees.

"Do you remember when you have told me about the bounty hunter Akynto Bees, the one who made you a slave?"

He remembered that Chiss' face with enmity,

"What's with him?"

"It would seem he has taken the Crime Lord Barcx's position shortly after the Mandalorian Wars when the Muun was discovered and arrested by the Jedi Order."

"Where is he?", he added with tightened fingers,

"Once the Muun was put under arrest, Bees moved the headquarters from Muunulist to Shyeera."

"Shyeera?"

"I am not surprised you have not heared about it."

"Shyeera is a bare arctic planet located within the Hoth system.", she added,

"A planet once populated by an enigmatic species which disappeared mysteriously. What remained after them are the large magnificent structures that now are being used by the Chiss Crime Lord."

"Fine, then.", he stood up and left the Trayus Core whereas Sion was instructed to go and hunt down a Jedi Academy contained within a large artificial asteroid within the Coruscant solar system.

Though they had different missions, there was only one means of transport: the Decepter. The spaceship was enough big for all of Sion's assassins and Nihilus. Among them there was also aa couple of Dark Jedi who wished to go with the Marauder to prove their might in Traya's eye.

Both of them sat in the back: Nihilus in the right, Sion in the left.

"So what do you have to do?", Nihilus felt the ship turbulence shaking their bodies,

"There's a place filled with Jedi scum, as master Traya said to me. She told me we must strike fear into their hearts, but if someone survives, we should let them to live."

"I don't understand her reason, but she might have a secret agenda."

"'Spare them'? I would kill them all."

"Here, I agree with you.", Sion cracked his teeth looking through the window.

After hours of space travel, the Decepter finally made its way in the Hoth system approaching their destination: Shyerra.

Most of the world was covered in snow, but it was light and almost dusty. Despite the lands were covered in snow, it was warm enough to maintain a good condition to harbor life, even when it come for plants and animals. The source of the warming conditions originated from a pack of colossal generators, located near the Crime Lord Akynto Bees' Headquarters, which caught the sun rays and converted them to power and warm.

Shyeera had two 'cold' suns: Leyos and Ycela , and a single jungle-moon called Shykx.

The few cartographers that had studied this world with its suns and its moon, came to the single conclusion that the mysterious species found a way to harness the cold energy of the two stars. The Shyeera species had constructed a massive generator out of the orbit: large as a warship, cubic and had mounted shielding devices to protect the planet from celestial bodies. The cartographers had come to the belief that the enigmatic species colonized the world, not the other way around. Evidence lay in the extraterrestrial massive generator and those on the planet.

Even if had one jungle-moon, the planet was stuck between the two suns, and there was no night. Day was the only constant here.

The landscape was covered in numerous green trees, huge mountains, some snowless lands: there the soil color was brown and fertile.

The cloaked Decepter flew over the Shyeerean lands undetected by Akynto's radars.

Nihilus and Sion saw the tough ice collapsing in the water, the lakes, the trees full of life, the animals that ran and roared, the lands blown by the calm breeze. The feeling of life was plainly overwhelming.

As they gazed at the teeming-with-life scenery, the pilot landed somewhere, far away from the Crime Lord's headquarters, in a valley hidden by the mountains in northern part of the Crime Lord's base.

The ship's engines vibrated and the back trapdoor opened in the air. They could not land due to the fact that the Chiss had installed secret remote detection devices for spaceships.

As Nihilus placed his hands on the trapdoor's edges, Sion spoke,

"This is the place, the Ice Mountains."

"You'll be on your own. Lord Traya believes you are going to succeed in completing this task.", Sion said,

"And if I won't succeed.", Nihilus asked and Sion replied immediately,

"Replaced with no second thought.", he cracked his teeth.

He was at peace with it, this was one of the risks Traya had told him many years ago when she initiated him in the ways of the Sith. Nihilus knew he will succeed. He must to!

Nihilus took his hands off the edges, he inhaled and exhaled for three seconds, then lunched from ten meters high decreasing the impact with the ground by creating a Force 'pillow'. He reached down as his feet threw snow in the air, leaving a large rounded hole in snow. He looked at the Decepter once more before it left this wondrous world bathed in light.

Nihilus was walking the dusty snow and peeves. He could hear the birds that flying over the colossal Ice Mountains singing in harmony, he heard their echoes spreading across the mountains. For a moment, he was tempted to abandon the darkness and rethink his life, but he remembered:

'The light is beauty, but it's weak. It chains one's potential and brings only stagnation. This is just an illusion. A perversion.'

He resumed his walk.

Nihilus climbed up the northern valley of the Ice Mountains, laying his hands on trees not to slide down accidentally. His black gloves were covered with snow, his black boots with mud.

But in the trees, a danger was lurking: insatiable purple eyes were watching him, a mouth muttered silently, sharp teeth cracked, big nose puffed, claws sunk into the tree's branches, tongue oozed with acid.

As he climbed up, a ferocious wild four-legged beast barked at him and jumped on his chest, both rolling down with speed. As they went down, Nihilus held the creature's hairless blue arms, with both hands, to not get scratched by its sharp claws. He and the creature hit a massive piece of ice and the impact hurled both in different sides: the beast in the left, Nihilus in the right.

"Enough of this!", Nihilus took his lightsabre from the belt and a straight red beam flashed to life. The Ice Mountain beast raged a powerful scream Force wave pushing the Sith Lord, a few meters away, slamming his body by an ice rock. He reassumed his fighting stance and threw his blade to slice the beast's head, though it repelled his lightsabre using another powerful scream.

The beast jumped in the air with its arms wide open ready to slash the Sith Lord's arms with a vertical cut. Bathed in the Force, the Sith apprentice created a telekinetic shield. The wild creature struck at the shield, lessening its power. As the creature weakened his Force shield, it tried to consume his lifeforce. When its orange drain rays touched the man, the creature felt 'nothing': it felt a wound, an empty place that draw energy into itself.

"You wanted to drain me, beast!? Let me pay it back to you."

Nihilus directed his hands at the beast and the process began. The beast didn't register any power at stake, but it felt the sudden chill of death. And with it, the beast was gone, its essence and energy embed into the Sith Lord.

After the match with that animal, he climbed up the mountain again. At the mountain's top, he stood still, taking a deep breath, feeling the refreshing cold breeze, the air waves touching his own lips. He saw the rays of the two suns: one in his left, one in his right. After he relaxed his muscles from the fighting stress and cleared his mind of insignificant things, Nihilus climbed down the mountain on the other side crushing the solid snow under his foot leaving footsteps behind.

As he walked by foot the great distance between the Ice Mountains and Lord Bees' Headquarters, Nihilus used a Force technique learned from Traya to keep his body unaffected by exhaustion. Fortunately for him, the large woods provided him with good cover. Meanwhile, in the Chiss' private office, one of the alien's men rushed inside,

"Lord Bees-", the man looked at the collection of weapons in the alien's right side,

"'Akynto', call me 'Akynto'. I hate when someone calls me on my last name. It's the finest form of flattery. I hate flattery. Only the stupid flatter."

"Lord Akynto?"

"Yes, what is it?", the alien was sitting in his chair,

"The Sith, the Sith, my lord!", the man gasped,

"What about the Sith?", Akynto clasped his own hands on the desk,

"They have returned, my lord. They just assaulted the asteroid Jedi Academy in the Coruscant system. It was completely flattened down."

The Chiss raised his palm and punched the metal table with tightened fist,

"Dammit! These Sith are more annoying than the Jedi, and they can be barely fooled."

"Sir, you could negotiate with them."

Akynto frowned,

"'Negotiate'? These Sith can't be trusted at all, they'd use me and get rid off me with no second thought."

"Sir?..."

"When a Sith asks of you to be their friend: be ready to be backstabbed and cast aside when you're no longer useful.", he sighed with clasped hands,

"Who knows if they have something in their twisted mind to pay us a little visit. For the highest protection, activate the defense weaponry system in the perimeter and mount some turrets outside of it just to be sure enough no one will going to run my business under."

"Yes, my lord.", the man bowed and left the office.

The Chiss remained with hands clasped in his dark room, half closing his red icy eyes.

"And if that fails, I have a colossal 'ace' hidden in my very 'pockets'.", the Chiss grinned concealed by shadows.

As Nihilus made his way through the vast forest, he got over a pack of large silver turrets: each equipped with four laser cannons that constantly rotated from left to right beeping and monitoring the area.

Nihilus tapped into the dark side, concentrating on the targets he wanted to annihilate. He brought his mind out of the body, picturing the turrets' positions.

Nihilus gripped the turrets with the Force.

The massive pressure of his telekinesis power bent the turrets and made them to implode. One second next and they were turned into deformed metal ball objects. The pressure was so intense that the turrets exploded and fire sparks shone in his eyes from the explosion spread in the air.

Nihilus showed himself when the turrets were destroyed and advanced forth in completing his mission.

Inside the Chiss' headquarters, the same man, that entered the alien's office, saw the outside perimeter turrets being mysteriously destroyed with the help of the cameras secretly installed in trees.

"Sir, sir!", the man shouted frightened,

"What is it now!?", Akynto shouted too,

"The outside perimeter turrets are destroyed. Someone powerful in the Force is here!", he gasped,

"What are you waiting then for, fool? Alert my troops!", the Crime Lord suddenly stood up and left his room. The man sounded the general alarm,

"All staff, alert. This is not a drill. Hostile forces detected."

The Crime Lord's troopers got up, with their laser blasters prepared and their masks peeled and ran toward the large outside door.

"Move, move, maggots!", the troopers stormed as the general alarm sounded out loud echoing throughout all the room compartments: from the smallest to largest.

Nihilus Force amplified his senses: listening to footsteps, loud voices, men breathing at unison. The Sith Lord used another Force power extending his sight to Akynto Bees' Headquarters: he saw soldiers carrying heavy blaster rifles dressed in brown armors and black helmets marked with a blue reptile drawing.

Nihilus was ready! He powered up his lightsabre assuming an offense stance with the crimson blade in vertical position tightening the hilt with his fingers.

As the troopers advanced, they blew apart the trees, with their super floating tanks, creating a straight path.

While the Crime Lord's troops were violently forging their path, Nihilus spotted a Republic ship in the sky: its nozzles vibrated with high pitch sounds.

The ship immediately blasted the troopers and their menacing combat machines heading at the Crime Lord's Headquarters.

Nihilus felt their light side presence: the Jedi! When he thought things won't get more interesting, they just did.

Nihilus resumed his walk making his own path at the criminal base. As he approached the tanks blasted in horizontal line, Nihilus scattered them with a Force wave, blasting them forward in the air along with the corpses of the fallen troopers.

The Headquarters was now visible: its spiral towers releasing perpetual lightnings, the sun rays reflecting in its peak.

When he made it near the base, he spotted, from a hundred meters distance away, the Chiss Crime Lord, accompanied by four men: three Bothans and one human.

His lust for vengeance gave way to hate and rage. And with it: true Sith power!

Nihilus powered up his lightsabre, and burst like a supernova, trying to catch him. The man in the right side of the Chiss saw sideways a running figure with black robe and a shiny red blade,

"Sir, a Sith, right behind you!", the man observed with shock. The Chiss turned his head and saw the Sith Lord. Hating to express his emotions in public, Bees keept his cool,

"To the Prokan, Byju!"

"You three, stay here."

Akynto ran to his personal hangar: built by his men, near his headquarters, crunching the snow with his booth.

They entered in hangar and his Neimodian man, Byju, activated the ship's engines and nozzles, preparing it for departure. The hangar doors opened and the thirty meters ship was ready to take it to the stars.

Nihilus Force gripped the Prokan, quickly pulling it down, but not destroying it. He desired to kill the bastard Chiss with his own hands.

Akynto and Byju came out of his ship through the trapdoor: both quite unaffected at first look.

The Neimodian was frightened changing his eye look,

"Lord Akynto, what now?", the blue alien was speechless and his cool, gone,

"I think we sh-", Akynto heard Byju groaning and holding his own neck as he was raised in the air,

"Chhh, ahhh, ckkkkk-", his neck, twisted, his body slammed by a wall of the Chiss' base.

The Chiss blinked twice before he was suspended in the air by the mysterious Sith.

Nihilus Force pulled the Chiss backwards to him, ready to apply the last blow,

"Please, stop!", the cold alien sensed fear and despair now,

"Just wait a moment! I can give you anything you want. Money, an army, power, friends: just tell me and I'll do your bidding, my dark lord of the Sith. Master of all that is mighty, supreme lord of all that lives and dies."

"Can you give me back my parents?", his black hood slightly moved with the face bent down at the alien,

"'Parents', what 'parents'?", the alien replied. The Sith Lord took off his dark hood. At first Akynto couldn't recognize his facial features, but at a closer inspection, he remembered. Flashbacks struck his mind of how he brought Vodan to the orphanage and how badly he was treated.

"You... It can't be.", the Chiss slowly crawled back seeing a familiar face of the past that he thought it holds no longer any significance.

"I'll give you anything your eyes lust, but spare me.", the Chiss bent forward on his palms adopting a humble position,

"I'm so sorry for your parents' loss. But you would not understand. Please spare me, Vodan. That's your name, right?", the blue alien started bursting in tears before him,

"Give me a second chance and I swear on my species that I'll change my ways in the honor of your mother and father. I am gonna become a better person.", the Chiss begged for clemency with a child's look.

He hooded his face and raised his blade in the air above the Chiss' head,

"Vodan Tenebb died on Malachor that day. I am Darth Nihilus. Lord of Hunger. I am the abyss in which all that lives dies."

As the blade was ready to strike him down, a Jedi lunched from behind,

"Leave him alone, Sith!", Nihilus sensed the Jedi's presence and quickly turned back crossing their blades: both were hooded and neither saw the other's face. The Sith Lord Force amped his physical strength trying to break the Jedi's defense. Though, the Jedi maintained his own position until the Sith Force pushed him a few meters away.

He Force gripped the Jedi with his left hand and suspended him into a whirlwind with the other hand while he was carrying the lightsabre.

"Did you forget to make the difference between criminals and innocents, Jedi?", Nihilus spun the Jedi's body as if he were a puppet,

"Why do you protect him. A Crime Lord?!", he looked at the collapsed Chiss sideways.

"It is the duty of a Jedi to defend those who are weak and cannot defend themselves no matter their acts. All deserve a chance to salvation. And if he truly wants to right his wrongs he should have the privilege to do so.", the Jedi stalled charging a telekinetic blast,

"Then defend a criminal and have his blood on your own hands, fool."

"Fall, Sith!", the Jedi blasted the Sith Lord a few meters distance by the Chiss' broken ship interrupting the thirteen meters high whirlwind's rotation. With the whirlwind gone the Jedi fell down hitting the ground with his own back.

Both had their hoods taken off by the impact that crossed through their bodies.

Nihilus stood still barely regaining his consciousness while the Jedi was healing his own back.

They both saw each other faces as they approached one by another: one was human, the other was Elomin. The Elomin recognized the human's face first:

"Vodan Tenebb? Vodan is that you?", the alien added with a shocking face expression,

"Gyz, you are a Jedi now?", he was surprised to see the Elomin clad in a Jedi armor concealed by brown robes. "How ironic."

"By the Force, what have the Sith done to you, my friend?", Gyz felt the human's pain and now he shall always blame himself for what happened.

"They gave me what I needed. But it looks like you denying my freedom was not enough, now you will deny me vengeance too, 'friend'?"

"I did many things I am not proud of to survive, but I tried to change myself."

Nihilus and Gyz started walking in a close circle while they were speaking,

"What about me. Do you have any remorse?", Nihilus frowned his eyebrows: he had the face expression of a predator. He couldn't wait to strike the Jedi down.

"There's no single day that I do not regret what I have done to you." Gyz looked up at the sky, hiding his mourning,

"And those memories shall hunt me for the rest of my life."

"I understand you, Vodan. I really do. Just give me your hand, let me help you. Everyone can be saved, no one is beyond redemption. This is not some Jedi creed, I've learned this on my own skin.", he gave his hand with honesty. But the Hunger made back its way to surface, tormenting him, as if his stomach was full of acid burning him inside.

"Perhaps some might be beyond redemption, Gyz.", Nihilus remembered that the Elomin was the one who stopped the bullies at the orphanage to make fun of him. And he spared him.

Nihilus straightened his right hand behind, and his inner abyss was unleashed. The Jedi Knights that fighting the Chiss's troopers were all consumed to the bones. Gyz could sense the lifeforce and the Force energy of those troopers and of his Jedi comrades depleting: all facing a terrible death.

The Hunger was subdued and it returned to the darkest depths of his being.

The alien Knight kneeled, crying,

"Gone. They're all gone! How could you!?"

"You made me what I am today. Because of you I remained on Malachor Five.", he pointed at him. Gyz activated his red lightsabre and realized he must face the mistakes of his past embodied into one single being.

"Even if it is against the Jedi creed, some mistakes can be fixed only by the act of sword."

"And I'll try to offer you a swift painless death as possible, my friend."

Both jumped forward clashing their red blades: constantly performing an amount of strikes: one, two, three, four, five, then leaping backwards.

Gyz telekinetically lifted up the broken ship hurling it in the Sith Lord. Nihilus used the Force countering, breaking the Jedi's telekinesis grip. The Elomin leaped over the Chiss' ship, hurled by the Sith Lord, as it came quickly toward him.

Gyz aimed at the Lord's neck as he jumped charging the lightsabre's deadly blow. Nihilus caught the knight's raw laser with his own bare hands, blasting him with another telekinetic wave.

As the two fought without stopping, the Elomin swayed slightly to the dark side font of power using the Djem So combat style. Nihilus was trained in the art of swift deadly strikes by Traya, employing the Makashi form in battles.

Gyz temporarily surrendered to the darkness executing brutal powerful attacks with his own natural red blade. Nihilus stood focused, making use of light deadly strikes as the Jedi kept to avoid his attacks.

As their duel intensified, the Chiss Akynto Bees slowly took it off from their sight heading to another space shuttle kept in the hangar.

Akynto opened the ship's trapdoor quickly entering inside, setting it the autopilot mode. As the ship started lifting up in the air, the Chiss smiled inside the ship taking out a hidden remote control from his own pockets,

"Perhaps you've ruined my business, but I'll ruin your lives.", the ship left the hangar reaching out of Shyeera's atmosphere.

Their fight was so intense that Nihilus didn't even see his parents' murder getting away as he held his own lightsabre in defense stance.

"I have to say it. You are a Jedi and yet you carry a red lightsabre with you. Naturally, only a Sith would carry it.", Nihilus half-closed his eyes,

"You are right. But I chose this color to remind me of my inner darkness. To know that I am not without demons."

"Time to end this.", Nihilus Force gripped the Elomin. Gyz did not see it, apparently.

"What, how did you?"

"You are so naive. I could have atomized your body from the very beginning. But I didn't want to do it because I wanted to give you a fair fight. And of course to test my lightsabre skills."

"But it ends here. Time to claim your higher plane, Jedi."

As Nihilus was ready to pierce the Jedi's defenses and disintegrate him, the Chiss' Headquarters was shaken at its foundations.

Both stopped. Gyj felt the overwhelming earthly vibrations. Nihilus felt and saw a presence, through the eye of Force, beneath the ancient construction: a large massive form of life emanating concentrated waves of internal heat.

A scream rage blew apart the base, and a colossal beast made its way up from a hole, free of its restraints.

"By...the...Great Holocron...", the Jedi watched the beast with awe as his heart beat faster and blood pumped quicker,

"The 'Yzelgnorr' in flesh and blood.", the Elomin remained silent.

The Yzelgnorr was a one thousand meters tall monster: black eyes, bulky body, brown skin, sharp claws and sharp fangs. No one knew the truth behind the beast's existence, but its purpose was to guard the Yard Power Generators near the ancient structure.

The giant creature raised its arm in the air, ready to stomp the ground: both warriors leaped in the air away from the beast's range. The wild creature's yellow spit dripped down its fangs.

The Elomin Jedi was overwhelmed by fear of death: Gyz half surrendered to his inner darkness channeling the dark side energies that resided within him. The Elomin burst with rage unleashing from his fingertips destructive blue lightning bolts.

The lightning bolts hit the Yzelgnorr but its solid shell repelled them down burning the snowy soil: its rare plants and almost everything near vicinity. Nihilus caught the bolts with bare hands reflecting them back, dissipating them. Gyz surrounded himself with an electric Force shield countering the power of his own lightning bolts.

"My most powerful attack, and the Yzelgnorr still stands on its feet.", Gyz looked at the beast through his own Force shield and jumped backwards. Gyz had one last chance: he tapped into the light side nexus of the planet and assaulted the beast with a telekinetic blast. It remained unfazed.

The beast roared out loud straightening its left hand at the Jedi, catching the alien with its claw.

"Vodan do something. Help me."

Nihilus' words could not reach his ears but he spoke to himself, "I do. I am letting you have a swift die. Now meet your ancestor, Gyz. Goodbye.", he looked elsewhere.

"Vodaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

The Yzelgnorr opened his stench mouth and swallowed in one bit the brave knight, crushing his body with its teeth.

Facing death, an image with Traya from the past appeared into his mind,

'There are terrifying dark side powers Force, such one would be Force lightning. To unleash such destructive energies in the external reality, one must let their flesh engulfed by those energies. And emotions such as anger, rage, and hatred will help you. Let these energies devour your body inside, and when the opportunity appears, unleash them. This is one of the reasons why the Jedi are forbidden to use this ability. They are the pure expression of the dark side.'

Force lightning, as Traya explained to him during his training, is one of the greatest powers of the Sith, capable of twisting worlds and unleash terrible calamities.

Nihilus succumbed: his body invaded by dark side energies, penetrating his body with Sith power!

A dark aura enveloped his body completely. Potent dark lighting bolts appeared out of his fingertips. Those gigantic lightning bolts hit the Yzelgnorr's shelled skin breaking through its body. Nihilus' lightning bolts damaged the beast's organs, burning the wild creature: its body turned to ash, scattering in the air. Total consumption.

The mission was a half success, but Hunger called again. It was more severe than the last. And He made total submission to it.

Transparent tendrils stemmed from his body. His tendrils touched every living thing around him: but not enough this time. Nihilus gripped all the planet under his greedy grasp, devouring it, stealing its lifeforce and its Force energy. All the life forms disappeared and its light side energy was gone too. In a few moments, Shyeera was turned into a world sucked dry, leeched by colors. A void in the Force.

Nihilus' eye color turned black, his face became pale, his muscles atrophied. He howled in pain: the waves of his scream reached throughout the galaxy. Echoes of extreme agony spread all over Malachor Five. Even the Jedi Order sensed it, but they could not trace its origins.

Nihilus took his portable comlink and contacted Traya. Traya's red tridimensional hologram beeped,

"The Crime Lord escaped, but the planet is destroyed, stripped off Force."

"You have fulfilled your task, then. Resist, Sion shall appear any time starting from now."

Just as the dark woman promised, Sion arrived on Shyeera with extra-forces of Sith, with many spaceships after the attack on the asteroid Jedi Academy..

As they penetrated the world's atmosphere, Sion saw the desert landscape, sensing 'nothingness': there was no light and no darkness. He felt a black hole in the Force: complete annihilation.

Sion and his men landed next to Nihilus: the trapdoor opened and the Marauder came out with a couple of his assassins. Speechless to the great power of man, Sion remained.

"Get inside we're leaving.", the walking corpse cracked his teeth.

After two hours of travel, spaceships penetrated Malachor's vapid atmosphere. Nihilus and Sion came out of their ship and headed to the Trayus Core.

All in the academy saw the physical deformed body of Traya's first apprentice. The old blind woman predicted this would happen when the apprentice shall pledge his will entirely to the dark side and his Hunger.

Though he had the salvation of his soul by dying back then on Malachor V: his Master offered him the answer to eternal life,

"There is an ancient technique that will help you in transferring your essence into a vessel."

"What technique?", his body began to crumble,

"An ancient technique that the late Darth Andeddu discovered. A very knowledgeable Sith in the ways of the dark side."

"Teach me.", he added as Traya hesitated for a moment,

"Unfortunately, such technique is not known to me.", her words made him angry, but an answer came,

"Fortunately, the Dark Lord stored his own spirit into a holocron."

"Where is this holocron?"

"His holocron resides on Prakith: the world where he had set himself as the 'Immortal God-King of Prakith'."

However, with her apprentice's sudden illness, she spent no more talking and quickly thought to a solution to keep her own student's disease under control, at least temporarily,

"But first, we must keep your body to 'functional' parameters."

Abruptly her apprentice collapsed on the floor: his eyes slowly closed.

"Take him to the Medical Center. There is no time to waste."


	5. Life and Death

Life and Death

Chapter V

Black eyes slowly opened. Through them: you could see a couple of medical droids stabilizing his atrophied body. And there were no pain killers. You could feel his suffering, hear his agonizing screams as the droids removed the most atrophied parts of his body: the hands and half of his left leg. They were replaced with cybernetic hands and a robotic prosthetic leg. The droids attached artificial limbs by his flesh and burned those portions of his skin where the organic limbs were removed to hasten the process and prevent the loss of blood. Pain nonetheless, but that was the cost when someone chooses to sell their soul to darkness to gain a greater power.

There was one last piece before he could leave the surgery table. He kept spasming and howled in pain as the chief medical droid came with a respirator to strap half of his deformed face.

When Nihilus thought that was the 'last piece', the droids analyzed his blood stream too: it was slow, so, essentially, his heart was beating slower. He could see just blurs, vague parts of the world around yourself, but he had enough grasp of sight to see a droid coming out of darkness with a strange apparatus. Here, his 'real' torment was about to begin. The droid cut his chest in a circle, but he did it slow and with enough precision to not trigger any external bleeding. The four cone-shaped parts of the device were softly inserted into the chest. He could hear the crackling sounds of his sternum as it was slightly split apart. The agony was excruciating, he attempted to escape the operating table, but he was tied by it. The only thing he could do was screaming, and screaming while the medical droid was planting the device into his wounded chest.

With his ravaged flesh kept under control, the table rotated in vertical position. Around him there was no one he loved when fully regained his consciousness. It was only a woman with mendacious shadows around her and an undead with cracked decayed teeth watching you as if he was hating you deep inside.

The table's restraints retracted releasing him from the seemingly never-ending agony.

Nihilus gently stepped on the icy floor, but he could not feel his left leg and collapsed. He pressed enough force with his new hands to get up, but he could sense them partially. His muscles were no longer useful, the medical droids attached a suit that enhanced his physical abilities.

Every step Nihilus walked with his left leg, every move of his hands as he walked… he couldn't sense them anymore. He could move his body and interact with objects around him, but that feeling of skin touching a thing was gone.

And the woman approached,

"Now that you are functional again, you will sojourn Prakith."

He was ready to add his word but the rotten man interfered,

"What about us Lord Traya?"

"We will strike seldom and with efficiency."

The warrior loved war with a bright passion, always burning inside himself when one was fought,

"Should we sit here, waiting for him!?", Sion raised his tone,

"Yes. Do not forget who is the master here, Sion."

War represented everything he was, everything he knew, everything he felt: his very identity, but an order was an order.

"As you wish, Lord Traya.", Sion nodded left the Medical Center to hone his combat skills with fallen Jedi in the training chamber.

Nihilus' flesh was failing, but if one used the Force, they would temporarily refresh the damaged parts of their body as they were just fine. But this method would not work to Nihilus forever.

Out of the medical bay, Nihilus and his master walked the dark halls heading at the spaceship port. In that circumstance, he wanted to learn more about the awkward power that consumed his essence. He wished to know if he was alone or if there were others before who experienced a similar appetite for life.

"Master Traya, am I the only one who can do that, are there others too?", he replied crossing his arms. The elder woman sensed his consuming thoughts and replied,

"During my research I learned that what you do is somewhat in some way, similar to the rare-type dark side ritual used by some of the ancient Sith."

"But", she said staring ahead,

"their rituals are different than your hunger.", he stepped forward watching her with arms crossed,

"While their rituals do strip worlds of the Force and are capable to empower these practitioners with the deaths of those worlds. These rituals simply do not have the capacity to destroy an entire planet, to consume it until it disappears. Like you did Shyeera."

"Yes", now he slowly remembered: the barren landscape, the ruined mysterious structure and power generators. Now he saw himself back in the ship, looking through the window at the dead planet as it began to turn slowly into a speck of dust.

"Remember, you will bring Darth Andeddu's holocron to me. I know you are aware of the consequences.", she laughed as if for her it was nothing more but a game, as if it was something normal to inflict suffering in people for their failures. But that was the way of the Sith.

This time Traya ordered her apprentice to take a starship instead of a transport ship accompanied by a squad of Dark Jedi or Sith assassins. This had to be a swift and simple mission: bring the holocron to his master and learn how to save himself from his illness.

Nihilus entered the ship, taking the front seat, turning on the spaceship's engines. Normally the master would have had a pilot to go with the apprentice, but during these four years he was instructed how to fly a ship: what buttons he needed to press to activate the engines, the radar, the laser cannons, how to raise up or down the protective metal seal if the ship was damaged, what were the light speed levers, how to change the ship's course.

The spaceship slowly ascended to the storming sky, leaving the ravaged planet.

He set the ship's coordinates to the Deep Core region within the Prakith solar system where Prakith resided.

He was flying within the mysterious Deep Core region, alone, and everything that surrounded him was nothing more but the immensity of cosmos: the planets spinning, the asteroids that roamed floating in space randomly, the stars bursting heat, the presence of dust motes in the ensuing collision of two random meteors.

After four lengthy hours of roaming in the cold vacuum of space, Nihilus found the planet he has been looking for: Prakith.

The world was a mountanious fortress: it had an unstable terrain and its isolation made it a difficult site to be conquered by force.

As his spaceship penetrated the harsh world's sky, he could sense the presence of many intelligent life forms somewhere inside the many skyscrapers of the famous capital of Prakith, Prak City, where, if you were just lucky to be in the air, you could see the pointed fangs of some animal. Since he had no idea where this Dark Lord's tomb might be, he landed with his spaceship there.

Prakith's capital was erected on the largest plateau, allowing plenty of land to house huge constructions if some, of course, desired to build.

Nihilus landed next to a skyscraper: it was old, larger than those he has seen before, but teeming with life. Man activity sounds echoed all over the skyscraper: drilling, walking, talking, yelling. He stood still in the front of the two ironed large doors, walking unnoticed. Through the use of Force, he could see the strange life forms that were inside the building: Bothans, Wookiees, Zabraks, Neimodians, a huge number of humans, and a Chiss,

"A Chiss!", he saw him in the darkness sitting on a cozy white chair in a office-like room. He saw his soft face, his icy cold look, and from that moment, from that moment he figured out who he was,

"The Crime Lord!", he shouted in his mind with vile and hate,

"Now I'll finally kill you, you cursed Chiss. And I shall avenge my parents' death.", he said growing anxious and impatient as he learned about the blue alien's presence. He had to make him pay. This time he won't slip through his fingers. No. This time he will show him the consequences of his past doings.

He knew he was instructed with one goal: finding Lord Andeddu's holocron and quickly returning. But revenge held more importance than that secret.

This Sith had unbelievable power, therefore, to infiltrate, to strike fast as a shadow and quickly disappear, or to be deceptive. These were not such options. Not now, not when he possessed a power beyond any imagination, when he could simply crush everything around him with the Force. Nothing more but dust motes in his eyes.

Nihilus brought his palms together, as if he were holding a ball, charging up telekinetic energy. He gathered more and more until he could sense a heavy object in his hands. When the telekinetic wave was charged with sufficient power: fueled by rage and hate, the Sith Lord unleashed it, shattering the massive gateways, turning them into millions of fragments.

The gateways were blasted away and his path to the revenge was clear.

Nihilus made his way into the Crime Lord's Skyscraper, Force pushing anyone away who tried to attack him. No. Everyone that was standing in his path. But his presence triggered the general alarm. High pitch sounds spread throughout the structure. Akynto noticed it too, in the middle of his plan to renew his business, with some men in his room. Nihilus remembered it, as the mind was focused on that.

"What is it, now!?", the Chiss shouted in anger,

"Sir, bad news...", a black Zabrak entered the office,

"What?", Akynto stood up, his legs were shaken,

"There is a Sith, my lord. He destroys everything in his path. He keeps yelling your name."

"A Sith here, but how!?", the blue alien punched the table with the left fist,

"Even here I am followed? Fine then. Ready my army and send that monster into oblivion.", his eyebrows frowned,

"And if that fails, I still have 'two tricks' into my hands."

Nihilus already knew that the Chiss was a coward and he'd have tried to escape for what the Sith Lord did to him the last time. So he fueled his power with rage: and the building trembled. Pieces of ceiling collapsed everywhere destroying Akynto's spaceships.

As he shattered each thing: tables, engines, computers, closets; each one around him: Bothans, Zabraks, Twi'leks, Neimodians, and humans, a huge squadron of shady men, wearing dark armors, fuscous masks, black capes, electric staffs, appeared before his eyes.

Nihilus was ready to blast them into oblivion for good until he heard a familiar voice:

"So, you found me again, heh?"

"This will be the last time when you interfere into my business."

"My Krim Knights: teach this Sith a lesson of your own."

"They are no match for me.", Nihilus replied eager to slay them.

Nihilus partially opened himself to his Hunger to consume them, but it backfired.

"Ysalmiri armors.", a Krim Knight replied by beating his armor chest,

"Your Force powers have no effect on us. But we certainly do have.", they spun their electrical scepters like an airscrew.

The Krim Knights were the Crime Lord's elite: and total obedience was their creed.

Their Ysalmiri armor had the ability to negate any Force-related attacks by rendering its user as blank point where the Force would not manifest its energy.

Nihilus wondered how did that Chiss manage to find this world, but only Akynto had the answer. When Akynto was defeated, he made his way randomly into the Core Deep. And it was here where he found this ancient world named Prakith. Inside this skyscraper, that was now his and his alone, he found strange silver-like clothes that could deny one's Force attacks as he learned about the armors in their description. Who had left them, no one knows. Why, neither.

The Knights formed a circle around him, ready to attack. Cornered, Nihilus opted for Makashi to end this duel by employing deadly fast attacks. But his performance with a lightsabre was sloppy. They were able to overcome his sword talent and electrocuted his back and right leg with their staffs.

The hands and the legs were useless, but the Force never was, so the Sith Lord chose a different strategy.

Nihilus leaped backwards in the air ripping ten average-sized power cables and used them as Force lightning replacement, destroying the Krim Knights' armors.

With their armors shattered, Nihilus was eager to inflict terror upon them. Dark lightning bolts touched their skin, affecting their organs: heart, kidneys, livers, brain, eyes, muscles. They screamed in pain, asking him to stop. But Nihilus relished their despair and unimaginable suffering, he liked to see the agony and the fright on their face. He could smell their roasted skin as his thunder bolts made their way across their bodies cooking them alive. And when his rage was gone they were gone too. Total consumption.

Nihilus resumed his personal agenda. Of course he could have unleashed his Hunger to a wide-planetary level, but then, he'd have risked to never find Lord Andeddu's holocron or kill the Chiss with his own hands: to see the suffering in his icy eyes as he dies under his terrible power. The third reason Nihilus had was due to the increase of his appetite.

The Sith Lord went forward by taking the stairs. He climbed up the stairs. Troopers kept coming, and he kept smashing their bodies by the ceiling, by the solid walls, cracking their skulls, their spines, their ribs, strangling them with the Force and twisting their necks, or simply throwing them off the window. They should thank him they weren't fully subjected to his power.

These men were like tiny ants compared to his power. And Nihilus knew it.

So, after a long boring annoying fight with these insignificant creatures, that he deemed them to be so, he was finally next to the Chiss' office door. Nihilus was standing there, he felt his doubts, how his heart beat faster, how his blood pumped up quicker in his veins.

The Sith Lord broke the door, but there was no one: only a portable holorecorder on the table. Nihilus turned it on and the Chiss appeared,

"If you want that hard to have me killed, come in the Skyscraper's Underground Room."

The time has come when Nihilus shall take his revenge for the vile acts of that Chiss.

The Sith Lord did exactly as Lord Akynto told him in that message and he entered into the Underground elevator, that happened to be in the right, next to the Crime Lord's office.

Thank to the elevator's slow motion Nihilus had enough time to think his strategy. But he did not expect to this when the elevator's door opened: a Chiss into a super exoskeleton equipped with two blaster rifles, one grenade launcher on the right shoulder, two feet jetpacks, and a tractor beam cannon mounted on the left shoulder. What was worse, it had a Ysalmiri protection like the Krim Knights.

"Now I'll show you what becomes with those who love ruining my business. And when I am done with you, I'm gonna find your 'Sithy' friends and end their lives too!"

Akynto Bees fired in the Sith. Nihilus Force jumped back to avoid the alien's laser blasts. The Chiss threw grenades all over the place to shatter that cursed Sith. Nihilus managed to Force dodge them throwing them back at the alien. Akynto grabbed them with the tractor beam cannon throwing them at the Sith again. Nihilus summoned a telekinetic Force sphere to contain the explosion. But he devised a plan with this occasion. Instead of containing its full effects, Nihilus would allow some of it to hurl him and deceive the Chiss. And so he did. The explosion slammed him by a wall.

The Crime Lord believed himself to be victorious, but the Sith Lord got up and he Force lifted a massive pipe up that was down. The alien caught it when it was thrown, intending to throw it back, but the Sith Lord burst with speed, jumping on the exoskeleton's upper front part. Nihilus sliced off Akynto's tractor beam cannon, his blaster rifles. But Akynto hurled the Sith Lord four meters away before he could pierce his armor and give the fatal blow.

Akynto powered up his jetpacks floating in the air,

"Let's how you'll finish me now."

The blue alien shot with rockets in all the massive objects, leaving the Sith Lord with no offensive attacks.

The Chiss began to launch rockets anywhere he saw him. Darth Nihilus was forced to hide his presence in the shadows. At least for now.

Then, out of nowhere, a crimson blade struck the Chiss behind, severing his feet jetpacks.

Nihilus came out of that dark place where he brought down the vile Chiss, more than glad to sink his blade into the alien's guts.

The red blade pierced the armor in a circle and he removed the chest part of the suit taking out the Chiss, strangling him with bare hands. Nihilus Force pushed the alien away as he tried to beg for mercy. He hit his body by the walls, by the ceiling, by random boxes, until blood started dripping down his nose and spill it.

Now the final strike occured, Nihilus knew he was going to pay, but,

"If you kill me, you'll never see your parents.", the Chiss said collapsed and weak.

"Nonsense. They are dead. You killed them!", Nihilus shouted louder than ever,

"No, they aren't. That was also a lie. They are fine. I just had to keep them locked for a little while for your mother's movement to fall. And then she and your father would have been freed and returned to you."

"They are alive, where are they?", he said with desperation. The alien opened a secret door with a secret remote control,

"Right here."

His parents were now before his own eyes,

'It's really you?', he said in his mind, unable to utter a single word, knowing what would they say if they found out what he has become.

"Look, lady Kashya and lord Cylnus. Your so beloved son. Vodan Tenebb", the Chiss groaned, but Nihilus noted a sign of smirk on his face.

"Black than ever. And not just that. There's more, but he should say it, not me."

Kashya wanted to approach that dark man, however Cylnus grabbed her wife's hand,

"Are you out of your mind? How can that be our son?"

"Cylnus? That's our child for Force's sake. Look at him. I know that."

Cylnus coughed, "Look at that black cape, look at his stance. How is that our son?", he asked her. Kashya escaped her husband's hand and ran at the mysterious figure.

"After many years, our family is finally reunited. I have been waiting to this moment for so much time.", she replied with happiness and joy. She 'was', until she saw his deformed face, half-scrapped by a respirator.

At the horrifying aspect of her son, Kashya's face stance completely changed,

"Oh my. . .what happened to you?", she stared at his pale face, black eyes, his cybernetic hands, and his prosthetic left leg.

"Come on, Vodan. Tell them.", Akynto interfered, but he revealed nothing.

"In that case, let me do it for you. Everyone in this room should know that Vodan Tenebb is a Dark Lord of the Sith. Right, 'Lord Nihilus'?", the Chiss gasped,

"The 'Sith'?", she looked at the collapsed Chiss.

"No way. You are lying to me, just like you lied to me that my son died. No one is going to take your words for granted this time.", she looked straight into his eyes with the pure fury of a mother.

"Vodan, we're again together. Let's leave this place."

Akynto interfered again, but this time with a laugh, "You are so naive, my lady. You cannot see through that pathetic way of thinking of yours. Your son is a changed man, if I can call him a 'man'. Whatever he was once, he is long gone. There's no light in that body, only hunger for power."

"Keep your mouth shut, worm!", he raised his tone at the Chiss.

He ignored his mother's words or maybe he didn't hear them because what he was thinking now was only how to kill the damn Chiss. His parents were fine, but he didn't care anymore: love paled in comparison to his vengeance.

Nihilus burst in anger unnoticed, Force gripping the Chiss, "How can you use the Force? I thought it passed your blood?"

Her son had his attention focused only at Akynto,

"Vodan, what are you doing, let him go. If you kill him, you'll become just like him. Don't do this. You are better than him."

The Chiss barely breathed but he murmured a few words,

"He has become already more than me. My wicked deeds pale compared to your son's.", the blue alien smirked with his cracked teeth. Irony at its finest.

He frowned his eyebrows, disturbed by the alien's words, strangling him harder with the Force,

"Shut up!"

"Vodan, please, stop. Let's just the leave hell out of here."

This is how it feels like to be Darth Nihilus forever.

She cried, your mother cried, desperately trying to stop you from making the biggest mistake of them all: losing your soul forever.

As you charged a powerful telekinetic wave, ready to send the Chiss into oblivion, your mother kept talking to you. And, then, all your anger was misplaced: you hit your mother instead, slamming her by the wall. The force of your attack broke her fragile skull and spinal colum.

The being who gave you birth, the woman who raised you, who held you in her arms when you were but a little baby, the only person that cared more about you than herself, now was lying on the icy floor. Dead.

She gave you love and life, and in turn, you gave her hate and death.

"What have you done to her!?", your father screamed in tears in knees. And you burst once more, piercing him with your crimson blade. But he loved you, despite of those words. And he caressed your face in tears. And he died.

The anger and the rage you felt were projected upon them. Why? Because deep inside yourself, you didn't want to avenge the loss of your parents. No. You wanted to avenge your own suffering. They were an obstacle in your desire to take your revenge, therefore they had to disappear. So you cared more about yourself than them. And now, the self is everything you will have. But that was lost too when you subdued yourself to your greed, your thirst for power… your hunger.

In truth, you remained with 'nothing'.

Now you mourn their death, shouting at the ceiling. Screaming at the Force itself. There is nothing you can do about that.

"Noooooooo!", and you cry, and you sigh: blaming yourself for this. Forever.

When you finally found your parents, when you could finally be with them...

You had the chance to choose between vengeance and love, and instead, you gave yourself to vengeance. Now this will haunt you. Forever.

Traya was right to choose the 'Nihilus' moniker. She named you that way for a reason. Each Sith had their moniker for a purpose: it offered them an identity. And yours. Yours was that of nothing.

This is how it feels like to be Darth Nihilus forever.

After murdering his parents, he knew the Chiss still had to pay.

Nihilus slowly twisted his limbs, hitting him twice by the ground. Then he tortured the alien with dark thunderbolts coming out of his fingertips. The alien died in great agony, his body turning into ash and then disappearing.

Nihilus' vengeance was done, the Chiss finally dead. Now he could head at the tomb of the Dark Lord Darth Andeddu with the coordinates he found on the floor dropped by the Chiss when he was slammed by the walls.

The Sith Lord left the Underground level with the elevator, exiting the Skyscraper where he entered. But images of his parents haunted him: he could see their faces awake. He did one more thing. Nihilus distanced himself as long as possible as he could by the skyscraper, and then he raised his two hands in the air. The giant building began to shake itself: everything within was crushed by the concrete remains: tables, cables, compartments, terrain vehicles, speeders, the structure collapsed into itself. This building would be Nihilus' grief. And now. Destroyed. It is like when one tries to sever their memories of something unpleasant bound by a certain object or by a certain place. For Nihilus this was selfish moral salvation, it made him feel comfortable, it made him feel he is absorbed by guilt, it made him think there is a new beginning.

The Sith Lord set foot back into his starship that he protected, as the skyscraper imploded, ascending to the sky.

After hours of flying, Nihilus made it: Andeddu's Keep.

As the ship landed down, he felt the extreme dark side energy waves, imperceptible to simple eye, that burst from within the tomb. The darkness that was permeating his body, offering him the great promise of power, made his body to tremble. Such place is the Keep.

The gates appeared to be sealed, but Nihilus Force opened them, and a number of a people made their presence known. They were almost naked, wearing just underwear, black gloves, and red lightsabres. The primitive men activated their weapons: sounds of sabres echoed throughout the tomb,

"We're Malevolence, the Lord's watchers. Trespassing will be punished."

But he knew they were no match for him in spite of their imposing stance. They were nothing more but motes of dust in his eyes. His power did not go unnoticed, they felt it too: his body was irradiating with brute Force energy, but at the same time consuming him by increasing into itself.

The keepers united their dark side energies together, creating a huge sphere of darkness, hurling it in the trespasser. Nihilus caught their creation, dissipating it with no problems.

His body was exhausted and continued to fail and had no interest in fighting. So, Nihilus Force stunned the Malevolence watchers and walked unharmed among them. The darkness within was great, and it called, it called Nihilus, to go, to go and claim its secrets for himself.

Every trap planted by the Keep's servants: ancient battle droids, hidden boulders, secret laser guns, alchemized Sith beast, were all shattered by Nihilus' hunger for power as he made his way to Andeddu's holocron.

After a long sequence of failed traps, he found the source of the darkness: a sarcophagus guarded by another group of people. Nihilus grew tired and tired of fights, so he slammed those men by walls, enough to let them knock-out.

The sarcophagus was opened, the holocron shun with red lights and something flashed to life.

"Who dares to violate my precious sanctuary!?", a silent echoing voice said. Nihilus relaxed his senses and took notice of something in that dark place: a blurry shadow more and more visible to his naked eye.

"I'm Lord Andeddu, who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Darth Nihilus, a Lord of the Sith: one of your successors. I came here, humbled, because my body is failing due to an illness that consumes my essence. I need your help, oh, great spirit of Lord Andeddu."

"A true Sith shares nothing with others. Go, and leave me alone. If you really were a Sith, you'd have found a cure by now.", that's what the spirit told him. Nihilus felt mocked and wanted to prove him the contrary.

"I challenge you for the holocron, Andeddu.", he said in anger,

"Now you learn, apprentice, and die!.", the ghost moved his essence into a new vessel, a mortal body: one of those who were hit by the icy walls. The shelter was occupied and the Dark Lord rose again after millennia.

But his powers were far above him. What he needed to do was to strike him with many bolts of dark lightning, until he broke the ancient Dark Lord's host body.

He slowly approached Darth Andeddu's broken host body, Force gripping him by the neck with aggression. The first moment the ancient one dared to stare into his deteriorated black eyes: he could see the end of all that it is: light and darkness. He was far more dangerous than the dark side. He was a wound, a hole.

Anddedu was frightened sensing Nihilus' predatory presence and quickly drew his spirit back into holocron, 'running' away from the beast's hunger. He ran away when he saw those eyes. Hungry, empty eyes. It was as if he was watching into a black vortex where a thousand of souls were spinning in agony and scream in unison trying to escape. Terrifying. More horrible than the darkest nightmares a Sith could conjure to men. For the first time in thousands of years, Anddedu felt fear and despair.

"Now, show me, and teach me, wise one."

Darth Andeddu gifted his successor with the secret of eternal life, telling him that the one who embraces the dark side will eventually suffer due to the corruptive effects of it. Eventually they all die. Andeddu taught him and Nihilus learned.

After he was taught how to draw his spirit inward, he knew you became stronger, he knew he surpassed even his master in knowledge. Now she was no longer useful. But in the end that is the Sith way as she told him.

It begins first with simple, blind obedience, but as one learns: they slowly begin to crave, to acquire for themselves, and finally, when their power surpasses that of their master, they deceive and kill them in turn. In the end these are the three component keys that define a Sith: knowledge, power, and betrayal.

Nihilus had two, and what he needed was the third.

The Sith Lord left the Keep, leaving the holocron behind, no longer needing it. He went through the crowd of Malevolence, but now they let him pass outside, afraid of his terrible powers.

The gateways were closed behind him by the keepers who continued to immerse themselves into the dark energies of the Keep, unable to leave such a wondrous place extremely sipped into Anddedu's mighty influence.

Darth Nihilus left Prakith, swearing he shall never return again.

"Malachor Five, finally.", he said in its crushing atmosphere. Malachor Five. Indeed. A dark world just as his own heart and at the same time just as, 'wounded'.

Years ago, this planet was the most hateful thing, but now he craved it, he craved this place. Because here, because here he felt good, he felt accepted and understood. Because here the weaknesses of character were saw as strengths. So he could have an excuse for his terrible doings. He knew that only 'power' is the escapement for his worse acts: because that's what the Sith teaches one, that morals do not apply to those in a position of power and influence, because there isn't any morality at all, because those who have a greater power establish what's right and what's wrong. A beautiful lie that shall cover his thoughts, warm him up inside, a lie that shall have his past, present and future atrocities, completely... justified.

The Lord entered the Trayus Academy, descending into the darkest part of the school.

Traya was waiting for him,

"So, where is it?", she asked,

"I couldn't find it, but at least I destroyed that Crime Lord you had me to kill on Shyeera."

"Then, suffer the consequences of your doing.", she struck him with purple sparks of lightning, torturing him. But he submitted himself to her, accepting her treatment. He knew he'll inevitably destroy her. But this was not the time. Not yet. He just waited for the proper opportunity. And it will come.


	6. The Lord of Hunger

The Lord of Hunger

Chapter VI

All around: books, volumes, old manuscripts, shelves, and what else could be other than the mesmerizing darkness. Oh. The mesmerizing darkness.

Slender shoulders leaned on the table, weak hands skipped pages and pale eyes read them.

Nihilus was sitting in a secret place he randomly found inside the Malachor Depths, hidden from the prying eyes of his own Sith Master.

The chamber was enormous. It had seven kneeled statues arranged in one side and another of the hall, each having a stoned lightsabre with its edge directed into the ground. At first, they appeared to be an elite of Sith warriors bowing to their mysterious dark side ruler. No one, with the exception of Lord Nihilus, knew about the presence of this hidden chamber. It appeared to be a laboratory where its researchers experimented with the dark side on various subjects. The science notes Nihilus found informed him of how those Sith researchers were bent on discovering or invent new dark side abilities. On top of that, the science notes had information about an enigmatic Sith Emperor who had striven to find a way to make himself immortal and more powerful in the Force. His ritual was tested on the fertile agriworld known as Medriaas, later Nathema. From the emperor's private notes, it was revealed that the planet he had stripped off the Force, with thousands of Sith Lords under his mental influence, was nothing more but a random event. The void was not the 'real' purpose of the Sith Emperor: his true desire was to transform that world into a powerful dark side nexus by harnessing the suffering and agony of its inhabitants. Nihilus learned from the emperor's notes that his own awkward power was similar, yet different, with the Ritual of Nathema. Though, time was critical and Nihilus had to experiment with the dark side if he wanted to avoid his painful demise.

Aware that he shall die in no more than a few days, Nihilus secretly brought a fallen Bith Jedi Knight, in his room, whom he used the Force to subdue him and make him faint.

The rogue Jedi woke up and found himself placed on a table with restraints on his hands and legs. The Jedi screamed, bursting with rage, shaking his hands and legs. But no one could hear a noise given the room was antiphonal.

"Release me this instant! I was told by lord Traya that I would become more powerful and not chained here. I want to be free. Now!"

The Jedi noticed Traya's pale apprentice: "My lord is gonna find out what you did here. And you shall be expelled.", he kept shaking his body.

Nihilus sighed, "Relax, Jedi. I am going to hollow you out of your body. That's all."

"Hollow me out? I won't stand and accept that. Release me!"

Nihilus got bored of his persistent nature and Force stunned him: "That's a lot better. Quiet at last."

Nihilus cleared his mind of everything that surrounded him: the building, the men, and the storming weather.

Inside his mind, he could hear Andeddu's voice as if he was there with him, but he was only remembering his ancient predecessor's words,

'Focus on your vessel, solely there, until the exterior reality fades away in your mind. When you are confident enough, rip your spirit from the weak flesh and inhabit your fresh host's body.'

'The transition is extremely painful, but that's the price to eternal life.'

The Sith Lord Darth Nihilus drew his spirit out of his deformed, weakened and useless body, ready to claim that tied up poor Jedi's. Nonetheless, Andeddu gave a warning: 'Though, be careful about your vessel. If they possess a will more powerful than yours, then you own spirit shall be cast into Chaos for an eternity of agony. The punishment for all the mighty ones. But power is power and a true Sith craves it no matter the consequences.'

A few moments next and a body collapsed on the floor. Waves of dark side energy appeared before the Jedi's eye embodying the figure of Traya's apprentice as a ghost.

"Oh, no. By the dark side…", the Jedi began to drop tears out of desperation and fear.

"Your body shall be my anchor, Jedi. Say goodbye to this world and descend into darkness. May the Chaos have mercy on your soul."

Nihilus' ghost disappeared and transformed into something black like smoke.

Suddenly, a feeling of cold engulfed the subject's flesh: the ghost hollowing out the Jedi's spirit and taking over the alien's body. The Jedi could see a faint light as Nihilus emptied him of the body. And at the end of the tunnel the Jedi saw only hideous faces and flames.

"No!", and the alien's spirit got drawn into Chaos. Forever.

Nihilus opened his immense eyes. It felt like a second chance to life. And the process was agonizing, just as Darth Andeddu told it would be.

Now he looked at his frail shelter: pathetic. A relic. Nihilus felt healthy and in power, so sure of his achievement. An euphoric moment. And the Hunger struck again...

Nihilus fell in desperation: he was so desperate, because any random body he would select: they would all fail, consumed by his hunger and the dark side taint.

After ten failed hosts, the Sith Lord came with a brand new idea: an artificial vessel. Lord Nihilus ordered some of Traya's Dark Jedi, whom he Force mentally subdued them, to gather small parts of iron from crashed Mandalorian ships.

The broken parts of iron were lain into a pot and were melted. After the first phase of the making, the hot liquid was transformed into a magically enhanced exoskeleton with a black cape attached to both shoulders.

The unnatural vessel was: imposing and tall, with two eye holes, a superficial nose, and a barely noticeable mouth.

But one thing was missing. A symbol. Something that defined his very wound nature, something that brought with it the identity of 'death'.

The Sith Lord ripped the head off of his deformed body, melting it in boiled water until it remained without any hunk of flesh. The smell was terrible, worse than an expired egg, but Nihilus overlooked it.

In the third phase, Nihilus molded the skull in his own imagination following the patterns of a Hendanyns, crafting a white mask and drawing two red vertical lines on the two eye holes with the leaked blood in water that would come permanent. The last attachment was an amulet on the forehead meant to keep the Hunger temporarily under control when there would be no Force sustenance: one could say it was similar to an energy supply. But only if the circumstances force him too.

Other corrupt Jedi stood next by their Sith Lord as he prepared to encase his essence into the dreaded armor.

As Nihilus ripped his own spirit out of his last host body: everything around began to fade away. The light became pale. The reality got blurred and deformed.

But the transition hurt as if someone pierced their blade into his stomach, quickly eviscerating his intestines or disrobed his skin while he was aware of the world around.

Although to some eyes the ability of transferring the spirit was something spontaneous and swift, in fact, the practitioners felt it for an eternity. A never ending torture.

The fallen Jedi were next to their master, wondering themselves if he did it or died in that attempt, staring at the dark side empowered black armor to stand against lightsabre strikes.

For a few moments it was a complete silence: all were paying attention to the Sith Lord's artificial shelter.

Now he found himself awake. A new stage of existence, one might say. He opened his eyes, slowly. But there are no eyelids. The reality is clear again; though, his frontal vision was somewhat different: black and white were the only colors he could perceive.

The dark side did not harm his new 'body' anymore, in fact he sensed nothing at all. He couldn't feel how the lungs pumped air in his organism, because there were no lungs to do that. He could no longer feel the sensation of touch and he didn't have natural needs. He felt neither the warm nor the cold. He was nothing but a vacuum. More presence than flesh. Now. He just exists. No longer living. He is already, … 'dead'…

The operating table softly rotates to vertical with his lifeless vessel.

To the most he might have appeared terrible, a monster, an aberration of nature. But in the eyes of the lurking shadows: he was perfect. Almighty. Glorious.

Final expression of death.

The corrupt Jedi leaned forward to check their master's condition,

"Lord Nihilus, are you alright?", they spoke to him through a transpirator: an assist for the respiratory system, similar in form and function to a breath mask.

"Get out of my head. You will only weaken me. Begone!", images of his parents flashed in Nihilus' mind: blurring between reality and his cocooned dream world.

The voice sounded clear in his mind, but for the men around him they were only an incomprehensive utterance. What they heard was translated to tormenting hissings, imperceptible grim sounds.

The first fractions of a moment were unpleasant, disturbing. But, soon, Nihilus would begin to get familiar with his new way of existence.

Vodan Tenebb was now really dead: devoured by his inner rapacious beast. Memories of the past with his parents at the trade shop: the mother holding him in her arms; his father taking him to a walk throughout the Malgan Market, all the fortune and unfortunate events, sweet and bitter times: they were gone.

Beyond redemption. Now he has finally succumbed.

Something sinister is rising out of the dark side's depths. A force like never seen before. A force that shall wreck annihilation upon all the civilizations.

The worst times are at the horizon for the Republic. And a great holocaust of the Jedi is about to begin.

This time: trust, joy, hope, these concepts shall die. And an entire galaxy will experience an unforgiving darkness. But this time it will not conquer. No. This time, darkness will destroy.

Soon the galaxy shall know your power and tremble at your mere presence.

Nihilus!

They will know.

THE LORD OF HUNGER HAS RISEN!


	7. Betrayal and Exile

Betrayal And Exile

Chapter VII

The Sith Lord was analyzing a couple of electronic documents of the researchers in hopes he will find a way to control the phenomenon that rendered him a Wound in the Force.

Unbeknownst to Nihilus, the Marauder, Darth Sion, was roaming the Malachor's Depths, instructed by Traya, the Academy's head, to find him.

It passed some time since Nihilus' absence. And the Academy's warriors, who were not under his influence, began to have suspicions about Traya's foremost apprentice.

Sion gently walked, keeping an open eye for anything unfortunate might happen. Loud sounds of computer beeps came from a long dark hall. The Marauder powered up his crimson blade to cast the shadows away of his sight.

Nihilus was next to a large computer learning more about the uncanny emperor, from his personal notes, continuing to gather an amount of useful information about dark side abilities and the emperor's most private thoughts.

The beep sounds were clearer and clearer as the Marauder approached a strange door made of artificial material that was meant to mimic the hall's view.

Sion sensed, behind the said-so stone, an unusual chill: a massive loss of life like he felt on Shyeera: Darth Nihilus.

The Marauder tapped into his dark side power and blasted the almost imperceptible door with a Force wave, shattering it.

Though the laboratory was large, Sion's voice cast echoes,

"So here you are. Hidden in the shadows. What are you doing?", the Marauder approached Nihilus with quickness.

Sion observed a change in his fellow colleague apprentice: his ravaged body was gone and all that stood before him was a tall artificial vessel with a vacant stare. Nihilus, undoubtedly, did it. He discovered Darth Andeddu's Transfer Essence power.

As much as Traya, Sion thought that Nihilus was telling the truth and he did not try to deceive their teacher. However, with this, Sion saw an opportunity: they would betray the Dark Lord and set themselves as the indisputable rulers.

"You played with her trust and you lied to her.", Sion cracked his teeth and gazed at him with a deep frown,

"I am wondering what she might to do you if she finds out?", Sion looked at the old ceiling paved with strange golden inscriptions.

Nihilus read the Marauder's mind learning about his 'real' intent and tried to forge an alliance. Nihilus spoke and Sion listened.

The Marauder heard the burdensome hissings which were translated into a vision with Traya dead and them as the next Dark Lords of the Triumvirate. Sion realized Nihilus was aware of his own schemes. He hated Traya and her abstract ways. He wished to see her dead. He knew she only weakens their order with her uncanny methods of dealing with the Jedi.

"I see. And I agree with you.", he opened his mouth wide and cracked his decayed teeth. Although, he was aware, if they ever had the opportunity to overthrow Traya, they should have the entire Academy on their side. Not that Sion couldn't mentally control them. But an army with free will is far more terrible than one without it.

"There's danger. The Academy is still under Traya's influence. We must make them join us."

Nihilus hissed showing the tough Marauder another vision: all the Academy's students and masters bowing to them, fulfilling their will.

Because his only means of communication was through mind: Nihilus presented Sion a new ability, that was part of his awkward condition, allowing him to have a mind eroding presence. They should have become either mindless servants or men with enough will to perform basic tasks. On the other hand, Sion did not agree,

"The Sith needs warriors who know how to make decisions. I don't see well this idea of yours. Brainless warriors are the worst."

Sion did not share Nihilus' idea. Sion wanted to turn Traya's followers on their side,

"I will find a way to persuade the other Sith to join us.", Sion turned his back but Nihilus hissed for five seconds,

"'If they won't join us?', then they will be destroyed."

Nihilus asked Sion what should they do through his disturbing agonizing sounds,

"You, stay here. I am going to create an inner conflict.", Sion left the colossal chamber and Nihilus concealed the laboratory by creating a Force illusion of the broken door.

In the Proving Grounds, Dark Jedi students were training side by side with Sith apprentices likewise. The person who watched them was Shersach: an influential human member of the Triumvirate, yet occupying a lower position in the Sith hierarchy in contradistinction with Sion and Nihilus.

"Fight, fight 'till the death, but don't let yourselves killed.", Shersach shouted.

Shersach was with his three closest and most loyal colleagues Sith Masters: Jiptyre, Krissot and Sesk.

Unlike the high ranking three members of the Triumvirate, Shersach wore a traditional Sith armor and a silver mask to cover his face after it was burned by Traya for his disobedience.

As he oversaw the students, a rotten man approached him without being noticed. Jiptyre was the first to realize the Marauder's presence, followed by Sesk, Krissot. And Shersach himself.

"What is it, my Lord?", Shersach humbly asked with arms crossed behind back,

"I have a proposal for you, Shersach.", Sion cracked his teeth,

"A 'proposal'? What, if may I ask?", Sion took his lightsabre from the belt but he didn't turn it on,

"If you want to know what is all of this about, I warn you. Either you'll die by my hands or by Traya's."

Despite Sion's threatening words, he knew how unpleasant was for him to be nothing more than a mere servant of a fractured force of Revan's Sith Empire. Deep inside, he wanted to become more powerful: he craved a higher position in the Triumvirate.

But what was this risk the Marauder referred about?

"I like a proposal as long as it is advantageous to me. And I presume you want to overthrow the Dark Lord of the Academy. Am I not right, but can you?"

Sion raised his tone,

"Don't be a hypocrite, Shersach. I know you want to overthrow Traya just as much as I want. Don't try to play these mind games with me.", Sion cracked his teeth again.

He knew that the Marauder was right. After all Traya is the one who punished him for his 'defiance' by burning his pale face, turning him into a hideous monster.

Deep inside he boiled with anger, an inner fire was burning his body. And a desire for vengeance slowly made its presence known.

Despite of all the tasks he has accomplished under Darth Traya's command, swearing to never defy her again after his face was burned, the Dark Lord still did not allow him to advance in the Sith rank.

To betray her, was just a good opportunity for him. To make her pay and see her crumbled to the floor, made him just glad.

"I accept your proposal. You got with a new ally. But give me some time to make all the Dark Jedi and Sith join us."

"I can't wait to make that old woman to pay for what he did to me.", Shersach responded with seriousness.

"It is done, then. I will go and distract Traya while you are swaying them to us.", Sion added,

"So I will, Lord Sion. So, I will...", he replied to the Sith Marauder.

The Marauder left the Proving Grounds heading to the Trayus Core: the potent dark side focal Traya was using to foresee the motion of the future.

When Sion disappeared, Shersach shouted,

"Enough for today! There's other things we need to take care of."

The corrupt hardened Jedi and Sith students deactivated their purple and red lightsabres.

Shersach ordered them to form a circle for a bigger audience, to be sure every one hears his words. Fifty of apprentices and other dark side mentors were in the Proving Grounds at least, ready to listen to this Sith Master's words.

Shersach put his hands behind his back and spoke,

"I give you a chance to a more glorious future. A future in which the Republic will fall and the Jedi shall disappear.", he added, looking at each one of them.

"But if you truly wish that, then we'll have to rise against our Dark Lord Darth Traya."

"Why betray her?", a student said,

"Everything has its own risks. But without risking, there's no guarantee to success."

"Master Shersach, how'd we do that?", a Dark Jedi adeactivated his purple blade,

"Lords Sion and Nihilus are leading this usurpation. What we need to do is to dilute Traya's followers."

"Are you with me?", Shersach asked for an answer. But there was no answer in the room. Shersach powered up his red lightsabre,

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough.", the lightsabre, ready to make its first victim,

"I will reformulate my sentence."

"Join us or perish along with Lord Traya. After all, we are all disposable. We may die and others will take our place."

Any Sith or Dark Jedi used the darkness, for it gave them power beyond belief, to fuel their strength with anger, wrath, and rage. But as they pledge themselves to the darker emotional part of the Force, there is fear as well. The fear of death was a darksider's greatest weakness. So they accepted the Sith Master's 'terms'.

They all bowed before Shersach's sovereignity,

"YES. YES. YES!"

"Excellent. Then, we can begin."

There was one final place before they were able to overthrow the dark lady: the Trayus Crescent. Inside the Crescent there stood the elite of the Triumvirate: an area full of experienced Dark Jedi and Sith Masters. Though they were stronger, their loyalty was lesser.

Shersach was the witness of a duel between a Dark Jedi Master and a Sith Master.

Shersach came closer to see the combat between the two. The other Sith Masters watched how the two struck at each other: with fury lightsabre blows, with force waves, shock waves, burst strikes, Force lightning. Their speed was almost invisible to the naked eye. And their contest could be stopped only by the strongest of the lesser Sith and Dark Jedi Masters.

Shersach.

"Enough of this!", Shersach conjured huge blasts of blue lightning sparkles, hitting the two by the Crescent's solid walls, almost killing them.

"There's work to be done.", he spoke through his vocalize. Shersach was the greatest of the Trayus Academy: inferior only to Lords Sion, Nihilus, and Traya.

But as the Sith ways dictated: anyone can defy their superior if they deem themselves strong enough.

A Dark Jedi Master craved to take Shersach's position and he opposed to the Sith Master's order,

"I am tired of you telling us what to do.", the corrupt Jedi Master activated his red lightsabre.

"So be it then.", Shersach activated it too. A Force contest was taking place.

Shersach slowly approached the Jedi. The Jedi did the same.

Suddenly, the Jedi struck first creating an alter-image. Shersach caught the Jedi's red blade with his bare hands and Force pushed him away a few meters.

The Jedi stood up and threw his blade. Shersach avoided it bending backwards. The Jedi took advantage of the situation and Force gripped the Sith Master hitting him by a wall.

Shersach quickly took his lightsabre on the floor, ready to unleash a telekinetic blast.

The explosion was released, blasting the Dark Jedi Master by the walls. Shersach swiftly Force grabbed the Jedi's red blade, prepared to perform a deadly blow.

As the Jedi got up, Shersach burst with the Force creating a blur. Shersach stabbed the Jedi's belly with the Jedi's crimson blade and then with his own.

"Never try to defy one if you do not know the limits of your strength.", he leaped backwards and Force gripped the Jedi, assaulting him with lightning sparks, blasting him through the window. And if the Jedi would survive and return: he'd bend his lightsabre with lightning bolts and destroy them both.

"Now, pay attention to me.", no one said anything,

"Good."

While Shersach was persuading the Sith and Dark Jedi Masters. Sion was inside the Trayus Core, standing next to Traya.

Traya was using the dark side pool not only to foresee the motion of the future, but to see the past likewise. She witnessedm through the Forcem the foundation of the first Sith Empire by Ajunta Pall, the Great Hyperspace War between the Republic with the ancient famed Sith Naga Sadow, the Naddist Uprising, the fall of Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma and their costly war against the Republic.

But suddenly the energizing dark side energies brought her mind in the future, in a very distant one.

And she saw a figure there: a Bith. One that will be known as Darth Tenebrous in his days, side by side with his Muun Sith apprentice named Darth Plagueis. These were but fragments of a very vague future.

Abruptly, the Bith was dead under a rockfall and the skinny alien was his apparent murderer.

Another scene occurred in her mind. With the Muun come across a Force sensitive. Blond hair, average size, elegantly dressed. Certainly aristocratic.

"Palpatine."

"How do you know my name?", the blond human added,

"I know more about you than just your name.", the Muun replied.

The part of the vision ended and another appeared. The Muun was dead and the human relished the slender alien's suffering.

A second scene appeared with a brown haired Jedi kneeling before the same human but now an elder. And with his face scarred and deformed.

"What have I done...?!", desperately the Jedi replied,

"You're fulfilling your destiny, Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force."

The Jedi was exhausted,

"...I will do whatever you ask."

"Good!", the shadow smiled,

"Just help me save Padmé's life. I can't live without her.", the mysterious shadow sensed the Jedi's burning inner desire for his beloved one,

"To cheat death is the power only one has achieved, but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret."

"I pledge myself...to your teachings."

"Good. Good...The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith, you will become. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth...Vader."

"Thank you, my master.", the Jedi frowned his eyebrows. And they faded away.

Another scene appeared. The human wore a red robe, accompanied by a blue Chagrian male in the right side and an Umbaran female to the left side, speaking to a dozen of sentient alien creatures,

"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society!"

The invisible darkness shouted and was cherished with thunderous applauses, hailed with loud voices.

Traya opened up her eyes,

"The veil of the dark side will prevail."

The woman stood up. She felt the Marauder's self-doubts,

"The Sith may not win in these moments. But I had a vision, an overwhelming one. The Sith shall win in the following thousands of years: embodied by an influential political figure on galactic scale. His name is Palpatine."

"And along this mysterious shadow was a man with the heart of a furious lightning tornado. A Jedi. A trojan horse. Anakin Skywalker."

"Visions are an uncertainty. They can change all the time.", Sion added,

"Perhaps. But what I saw will bring the grasp of the dark side over an entire galaxy."

Sion did his part and decided to leave,

"Fine. Then I shall let you continue your meditation."

The Marauder headed back to the Proving Grounds to speak with Shersach.

Although the fallen Jedi and Sith were not there. They were all on Shersach's side.

"I did as you asked of me, Lord Sion. They are with us."

"Excellent."

"Now I will go to Traya's apprentice and inform him about our success."

Sion went back to Malachor's Depths and told Nihilus about what happened.

"It is done. We've won the Academy on our side. Her death is imminent now."

After their dialogue ended, Darths Nihilus and Sion came out of the laboratory. They were heading to the Trayus Core.

Traya sensed Sion's presence, and, besides that, she felt a chill, a hole. She knew it must be him, her most intriguing apprentice: Darth Nihilus.

They both approached her, slowly, walking on different bridges.

As the two approached, she placed her hand on the lightsabre. In a blink of an eye, Nihilus Force slammed her by a wall with a mere gesture of his hand.

Sion grabbed the woman's neck and kicked her into belly.

Traya groaned and collapsed on the floor,

"You are defeated. And now you'll die."

Nihilus gave to Sion another vision through his disturbing hissings. A vision where Traya would have her Force connection severed and be forced to live that way forever.

"You are right. We should not kill her. To see her little galaxy destroyed is a much painful punishment."

Nihilus not only usurped his teacher in power, but it was his time to rule. In order to fortify their alliance: Nihilus and Sion agreed to remove Kreia's Force connection together.

She tried to Force pull her lightsabre, but to no use. She was defenseless. A mere being. Her grasp of the dark side was gone.

"Go. And don't dare to return. Ever.", Sion raised his tone.

But a Dark Lord should have expected to this. After all wasn't she Darth Traya, the Lord of Betrayal?

"Such a predictable action from you. But I will do as you wish."

To her: Sion was a walking corpse, a beast kept by the power of the dark side and nothing more but a warrior without common sense. Sion knew and understood one thing: Pain. Of knowledge and understanding, he knew nothing. And Nihilus was a hungry mindless monster that was meant to perish when all the galaxy would not sustain him anymore. Traya's perception was that Nihilus would have never had the chance to become as perfected as the ancient Sith Lords. He was beneath them. Nihilus had power. But no control.

The lady left the dark heart of the Academy, walking through the shadowed hollow halls as she laid her fragile fingers on its cold walls. After a few minutes, she stepped into the Trayus spaceship port taking a random shuttle.

As her ship left Malachor Five's crushing atmosphere: she took a remote control out of her robe. She was humiliated, stripped of her power. Exiled.

In a moment, the spaceport exploded, with all its spaceships, killing the men inside. Great flames engulfed the place, consuming the ships to their very alloy. Metal scraps flew in the air piercing the walls. They were left to rot on that barren world in that Sith Academy they claimed to be as their own. They had the power, but there was no way of using it.

Nihilus and Sion might have betrayed her rule and sent her into exile, but she has betrayed their chance to take over the galaxy...


	8. Escapement

Escapement

Chapter VIII

Flames engorged the Trayus starport. Ashes and pillars of smoke slowly ascended in upright columns. Shrapnel pierced into the starport's inner and outer wall's sides. Inside Sith troopers had their bodies perforated by shrapnel too.

Within the consuming orange glows of fire: two harrowing monsters, glowing with black aura, walked side by side: a Force aberration in the right and a hideous walking corpse in the left, whose skin was rotten and stunk. Both sent powerful ripples in the Force with their corrupt presence, and Nihilus' was passively outbalancing it.

These two newly Dark Lords' servants extinguished the flames with wind waves executed through the amazing way of the Force.

The harsh Marauder looked at the destroyed starport, cracking his teeth in anger,

"I shouldn't have listened to you. Now we are all stranded on this cursed planet.", Sion was tempted to raise the tone, but hesitated,

"Our chance of taking the Sith Order to its rightful glory...is gone."

But this was not the end as Sion thought. The mysterious man, Shersach, approached with a solution. A bold one,

"Lord Sion, using the Force, I saw a Centurion-class battle cruiser inside the planet's orbit. And as you can see", Shersach pointed at the colorless sky, "there are also small-sized battle ships.", he looked straight at the Marauder,"If we use the Force, together, we could bring them down here."

The answer that Sion sought desperately was indeed, bold. In theory sounded perfectly, but practically this could not work and they might have died in horrible agony, he thought so, gazing at the perpetual storms of lightning and at the suspended spaceships.

Shersach knew it had to work if they united their strength in the Force,

"Then just watch, Lord Sion.", the Marauder was ready to mock the Sith Lord for his undoubtedly failure.

Shersach raised his hands in the air and reached out with the Force. Transparent huge hand-like shapes gripped the small-sized flying ships. He tried Force-pulling the ships, shaking them, but they were extremely heavy. Even with the aid of the other Sith Masters, Shersach couldn't do it. They simply produced insignificant turbulence, enough for some objects to fall or roll over.

Shersach collapsed on the soil, drained of his own strength. Exhausted. Though it was him who had the most influence over the suspended space ships.

The Marauder half-closed his eyes looking at the colorless sky and then at the collapsed Sith Master.

"I told you, Shersach. It is in vain. There is no way out of here.", he tightened his left fist, boiling inside with rage. Sion wished to Force choke Traya, to break her neck bones, to rip her heart outfrom her fragile chest, to hear how her ribs cracked. Yes, that's what Darth Sion, The Lord of Pain, wanted.

Was this the end, were they imprisoned here? Would have he lived for eternity alone on Malachor while the others perished?

A black metallic cold hand gently leaned over his right shoulder, he didn't notice that, he didn't even react despite his advanced precognitive inherited trait.

"Nihilus?", Sion cracked his teeth as the Dark Lord hissed, creating a chilling and unpleasant atmosphere. He translated his hissing into another vision where he would bring the battlecruiser to its rightful glory. The Sith glory.

"Can you do that?", one has failed, but would this one fail to? Sion said in response to Nihilus' vision.

Darth Nihilus straightened his open hands to the skies, concentrating himself. As he increased his Force strength with darkness: the perpetual lightning storms struck quicker, the thunders beat faster, the winds blew stronger tossing Sith troopers in the air. Strong circular wave winds formed giant tornadoes all over Malachor Five, cracking rocks and black mountains. At the same moment, Force shields engulfed the Sith warriors, protecting them by the powerful wind currents or any random heavy objects. The shrill cry of the Dark Lord spread all over the planet, echoing inside the planet's matter and out, penetrating its terrestrial crust, shaking the world to its very core.

The spaceships rapidly came down, placed by the Dark Lord somewhere near the Trayus Academy.

The Centurion-class battlecruiser was quickly pulled over a huge neat plain he saw through the eye of Force.

Such was Darth Nihilus' abominable power.

All the barely functional spaceships and the Republic Navy battlecruisers were around millions of tones. The Mass Shadow Generator's gravitational field that had the ships suspended in the air was around millions of Gs. Perhaps billions. This performance would have left any great Force user near to the brink of death. But Nihilus was not at all affected. He was in perfect shape.

Nihilus was a beast, a super natural force. That's what the other Sith: including Sion and Shersach, thought after they saw what he was capable of.

"The Force is abnormally powerful with him. His Force potential is limitless. We should watch out to not bring his wrath upon us. May the ancient Sith protect us. We are glad he is on our side.", Shersach said to Sion.

After the Force fields were gone, Sion still couldn't believe it himself. How could it be possible the ships were on the terrain in such an abrupt manner? After all he saw them with his own eyes as the dread Dark Lord brought them rapidly down and with ease. Even if the Sith Marauder no longer had any heart to feel or hear its beats, Nihilus' power caused him chilling palpitations. He had none, but somewhere, deep inside, he could feel a sensation of awe and fear.

"You. .", Sion stepped away from Nihilus as his own body trembled as if it were being drained, "made it. How can it be?", Sion just stared at the space vessels. Speechless.

The Dark Lord hissed again, creating another uncanny atmosphere. His shriek echoing to the stars and back.

"Enough talking. Let's inspect the ships you brought down."

Once they had control of the barely functional vessels, the Sith Marauder ordered the Sith engineers to repair them as soon as possible. If failure occurred, they were punished.

Thanks to Shersach's vast knowledge of spacecrafts he acquired during his life as technician in the service of the Czerka corporation, the Sith engineers fixed the vessels in no more than three days. Without Shersach using the Force to hasten the repairing process by fixing wires, computers, laser cannons, motion tracking sensors, who knows how much it would have taken. Maybe a few weeks. Perhaps full months.

After those three days, the last one waited to be repaired: the Centurion-class battlecruiser itself. A one thousand two hundred meters warship.

This warship participated in a war that led to the fall of Darth Malak, when the redeemed Prodigal Knight faced the Dark Lord for the last time on the Star Forge, defeating him, bringing peace again to the galaxy. Later it would be used in the Mandalorian Wars.

But the battlecruiser was in worse condition than the other space flying vessels. Everything was broken inside. The computers barely worked, the engines and the nozzles were destroyed and the iron shell could hardly resist to a hyperspace jump.

Shersach used the Force trying to fix each broken fragment of the ship, but he failed in his attempt. The battlecruiser was too damaged to be operated again: it was a wreckage, worth of nothing. It was no more the same warship that struck fear into the heart of the enemies, that was once an embodiment of the Republic: symbol of hope for the galaxy.

The only two components Shersach managed to repair were the laser weaponry and the proton torpedo launchers.

The human technician came out of the warship, informing the Dark Lord Sion about his own failure and the other Sith engineers.

"Lord Sion, we tried our best, but this battlecruiser is still not functional. We can't do anything about that."

Sion was tempted to Force choke Shersach but thought otherwise: "Then that's it, Shersach. We will go and strike down the Jedi without this battlecruiser asset."

Sion knew the huge warship couldn't work since he saw its damaged compartments and major components.

Meanwhile, Nihilus was in the Trayus Core, watching, drawing his consciousness inward, to see: nearby stars, moons, planets, meteors that clashed with other meteors, asteroids covered in flames that struck a planet's lush surface as the flames were scorching its grass and burning its beautiful flowers.

Immersed in the potent dark side focal of the Trayus Core: his perceptions changed, in size, to a solar system. He could see all the planets within the Malachor system: their fauna, their vegetation, their relief, their climate, the natural creations, the structures built by aliens or by humans.

After Nihilus stopped tapping into the fountain of power, he started meditating at the events that would be set in motion in the distant future.

His first vision was one of light and 'fallen light' that became darkness. Of a war between the forces of Jedi known as the Army of Light, led by the Jedi Lord Hoth, and the forces of Sith known as the Brotherhood of Darkness, under the command of the Dark Lord Skere Kaan. In this vision, the war was taking place in the Valley of Ruusan, where the Sith Lords united their dark side power to prime a thought bomb: a mighty blast of dark side energy. With the thought bomb unleashed: Skere Kaan trapped the souls of the Jedi and theirs. Total annihilation. And Nihilus saw with clarity who was responsible for this: Darth Bane. Founder of the Rule of Two. One who would reduce the numbers of the Sith to two in order to prevent infighting and assure that his Order of the Sith Lords would infiltrate within the Republic to destroy it and fulfill the Grand Design.

In the second vision, the light held under its benevolent influence all the galaxy. But this time there is no darkness coming from a 'fallen light'. This time there is pure darkness that slowly began to crumble the Galactic Republic within. The light became complacent, arrogant, losing its foresight and grasp of the galaxy. The one responsible for such act was a Dark Lord of the Sith called Darth Sidious, who rose to power as the Chancellor Palpatine and many years after, thanks to his cunning and mastermind intellect, he turned the Republic into a Sith-ruled Galactic Empire, purging the Jedi Order. The darkness destroyed the light: every Jedi it could see. Values such as hope, compassion, honor, love: they were gone. Claimed as weaknesses in Sidious' reign. The darkness tainted the justice's very roots and the common sense of civilizations. The vision slowly faded away and another appeared. The third vision seemed to be many years after Darth Sidious' rise to power. This time it looked like the galaxy was in a period of uncertainty: neither light nor dark. Like a 'cold conflict'. At the same time: a union and a singularity in the sides of the Force. All that changed when a fallen Jedi Master named A'Sharad Hett fully embraced the dark side and became Darth Krayt. This time there is no greedy darkness to influence the course of the galactic history by destroying and conquering planets and solar systems without any imposed limits. This time it is the 'light' itself. This time the light is the one that destroyed, the one that burned bright with orange flames and fire. Krayt was resolved to bring order with its hardening glowing rays. This 'light', Krayt brought upon worlds, would purge everything from the face of the galaxy. And in its a place, a new galactic order would arise from the ashes of endless One Sith.

Those three visions came to an end and Nihilus' consciousness returned to the present. Next, a door opens, revealing a Sith Master.

"Lord Nihilus", the Sith watched the Dark Lord with his legs crossed laying on the altar's icy floor,

"Lord Sion has requested your immediate presence.", the Sith bowed and left the Trayus Core. Nihilus laid his metallic palms over his knees as he got up. He Force pulled his red lightsabre next to him and left the Core area.

Outside the academy: Sith engineers, under Shersach's command, tried to make the battlecruiser working. But with no results.

Nihilus arrived at the Colorless Plain, there, a pair of Sith assassins stood next to Darth Sion.

Loud sounds came out of Nihilus' mouth,

"No, it can't be repaired. They are attempting this for hours, but there is nothing to be done here. This warship is already broken. Barely holds itself."

"If someone were to fly this cruiser in space. It would just fall apart.", Sion pointed.

Nihilus had an obsession for that Centurion battle cruiser. He needed it, he wished it more than anything.

Sion heard again his bizarre unpleasant noises, "Can you hold this overweight warship in the vacuum of space and maintain its integrity at the same time?", Sion frowned his eyebrows and cracked his teeth.

Telekinetically pulling or pushing massive objects was one thing, but keeping a colossal warship of a kilometer, that ranged in thousands of tones throughout space, was another. Sion asked himself when he'd witness Nihilus' edge of power or if he had any. Nihilus advised Sion and his Sith assassins to step back three hundreds of meters. The Dark Lord stepped inside the warship: with a mere thought, he turned all the Sith engineers into a mindless zombie crew. His zombie crew. Nihilus ordered them to follow him to the Command Room.

The Command Room's middle was entirely dedicated to the deactivated computers, surrounded by dust-covered seats. Behind that were six other large rooms arranged in a tight, rectangular "C" shape, connected to the main level via a large, hexagonal elevator that still operated. The bridge area had a small quantity of saved electricity that spread throughout the room which lit dimly with red lighting and had two glow lamps, shaped like thorns, rose to either side of the beginning and end of the center walkway. The bridge was mostly lit by the big windows above it which made up most of the ceiling, though these opened into space in most places, with the infrastructure of the ship showing everywhere. The center of the ceiling was made of metal with most of the wiring and components hanging down precariously. A bare, clamshell-shaped command station stood at the end in front of a large viewport, void of any computer terminals.

Every mindless Sith was instructed to get to a computer terminal that controlled two specific parts of the Centurion battle cruiser: communication, firepower and transport. Once all the zombie engineers were placed in order, the Dark Lord Force-powered up the ship's navigation system and its weaponry with precise tiny bolts of black lightning. Nihilus focused at maximum, 'feeling' the ship's structure with the Force: its every light or heavy component. The warship suddenly began to shake itself even if the engines and the nozzles were shattered.

"He... did it, again.", Sion stared at the Centurion levitating.

But this was not the only thing Sion did not expect.

Nihilus knew that the gravitational field surrounding the planet wouldn't allow them to take their massive warships out of Malachor's atmosphere.

Therefore, Nihilus reached at the gravitational field, through the use of the Force, and challenged its almighty authority. The gravitation field was powerful enough to catch huge-sized warships and prevent them from escaping. Nihilus pressed forward. And as he did: the gravitational field emitted loud thunder-like sounds echoing throughout all the Malachor. It tried to impose its dominance over the Dark Lord. It failed.

Nihilus succeeded. He overcame the power of Revan's Mass Shadow Generator.

When the little contest, of two forces meeting each other, ended, Nihilus telepathically contacted Sion to send most of the Sith troopers inside the gigantic warship.

The Marauder ordered Shersach, who happened to stand next to him, to gather the Sith troopers,

"Sith Master, order the shadow troopers to board this battlecruiser at once."

"Yes, Lord Sion.", Shersach bowed before the Marauder.

The Sith Master gathered all the troopers within the Trayus Academy and took them at the Colorless Plain.

"They are here, Lord Sion.", Shersach added as the wind blew over his Sith mask,

"Excellent.", Sion said with crossed arms.

The shadow troopers formed a big circle and Sion used himself by that circumstances to persuade them.

"Lord Nihilus", he said with arms crossed behind his back and the lightsabre's hilt in his right hand, "pulled down all the vessels trapped inside the gravitational field that rendered us unable to make use of warships by destroying it. And the Republic Navy's broken Centurion battlecruiser is fully operational through his use of the Force alone."

"Now we will be able to bring order to this dying fractured galaxy. We will crush the petty Jedi Order and their allies. Soon, the balance will be in the dark side's grasp. In our grasp."

"Under Lord Traya's rule we were weak, lost in obscurity, never capable to achieve what we truly desired."

"But all of these changed. New things are at the visible horizon."

"I witness a great future for the Sith Order."

Yes, the end of the Jedi was near. He could hear their screams in his head, their bones cracking under the pressure of rocks and stones. Each part of their organs pierced. Each limb severed by his lightsabre. And each skull smashed under his boot.

The shadow troopers embarked, ready to bring glory to the Sith Order.

On the other hand Sion had other thoughts. The Marauder telepathically contacted the other Dark Lord,

"Take your battlecruiser and go wreck chaos among the stars. I will take another ship."

Unlike Traya who claimed to a small extent the idea of unity in the Sith Triumvirate's military power for one to strike down their enemy together with another, Sion approached with an alternative. The Sith forces had to spread across the galaxy, quickly striking from shadows and then retreat.

Sion took his Sith assassins to another huge warship, though less bigger than the Centurion battle cruiser, but still effective.

Though someone had to hold control over the many Dark Jedi and Sith Masters within the Trayus Academy, otherwise there would be infighting. Shersach was chosen for this. Sion didn't like to watch others: he hated patience, Nihilus on the other hand cared less about that: he had no interest in watching others.

The three knew their positions: Shersach was the new Headmaster of the Academy, Sion was the Marauder who was infiltrating behind the enemy lines and ambushed his foes, whereas Nihilus, Nihilus was a world-destroyer. A living weapon causing planetary destruction.

Soon warships began to ascend into the sky.

Nihilus stood in the Command Room, hearing the beeps of the computer terminals and the sounds of the turbulence, looking onto window at the other Sith war vessels as his Centurion battlecruiser reached in the vacuum of cold space.

Whole worlds will come to know the power of the resurrected Republic Navy now become Sith warship.

The power of the invincible:

RAVAGER!


	9. Part I: The Shroud of the Dark Side

The Shroud of the Dark Side

Part I

Chapter IX

The Galactic Republic barely recovered after a costly war caused by the Dark Lord Exar Kun and his apprentice Ulic Qel-Droma: both assisted by the overwhelming force of the Mandalorian warriors. These two Sith Lords were victorious, but their triumph was short-lived. In the ensuing ambush on Ossus, Ulic struck down his own brother, Cay Qel-Droma. Remorseful for killing his brother, Ulic left the dark side and betrayed Exar Kun, willingly going into exile on the cold world Rhen Var.

Seventy years after Exar Kun's Sith campaign, the Republic went through another series of conflicts witnessing another mass destruction caused by another pair of two fallen Jedi turned Sith Lords: Darth Revan, then by his treacherous Sith apprentice Darth Malak. When the Prodigal Knight was betrayed by his own student the Jedi Bastilla Shan saved him instead of killing him, keeping his life essence. And together with the other Jedi, Shan wiped out the memories of his past self hoping he will take the right path this time.

When Revan remembered who he actually was, he decided to face the mistakes of his past. On the Star Forge: a living Rakata dark side-based factory machine, Revan challenged his former Sith student and defeated him.

Ulic Qel-Droma and Revan were two of the greatest Jedi ever, known for their combat skills and Force strength. But their most defining trait was neither of these two. Their ability to make the right choice after they passed through the cruel and deceptive heart of the dark side reminded the galaxy of who they really were. Ulic and Revan were many things: heroes, villains, conquerors. In the end they became living lessons for future generations: either Jedi or mere people.

The message, _'All who fall can always rise again'._

In the ensuing defeat of Exar Kun and Malak, people celebrated with joy and gladness the freedom and justice.

In every civilization comes a moment when the darkness seems to fade away, to disappear. But the darkness always returns. And there always has to be a balance in the universe. For if one does not experience the shroud of the darkness, then how could they understand the beauty of light?

When the darkness expands its black tentacles, the light severs them. And when the light extends its bright rays, the darkness corrupts them and devours them. This is one of such moments.

This time the darkness will swallow the galaxy. And unfortunately. It shall win by bringing an end to everything the galaxy holds the most dear.

The end of the Jedi Order is near.

The darkness is close, embodied into a super warship held by the sheer will of a Dark Lord and a zombie crew that knows only one thing: serve their master beyond doubt.

Utter mindless devotion.

The battlecruiser roamed in the vast emptiness of space.

The only things Darth Nihilus could see, were the meteors, the asteroids and the stars. Despite his monochromatic vision, Nihilus was able to 'see' the energy signature of every object and being permeated by the energy of the Force. Meteors and asteroids were black, devoid of Force energy and lifeforce. Stars were of a luminous red color constantly blowing with dangerous radiations. And planets, where neither side of the Force affected their environment, were yellow. Planets permeated by the light side were shining with bright light sending waves of light side energy. Those tainted by the dark side were covered in a concentrated violet aura emitting streaks of dark side energy.

As the Ravager left the Malachor system: a large group of pirates, flying super-sized stolen warships and average sized-ones, came in his way, in the darkness' way.

The communication established. And the face of an old almost withered Weequay appeared on the Ravager's computer screens.

"My name's Kraylyn. Your ship is mine. Prepare. We're comin' to take it.", the transmission ended and the pirate was so sure of his doing. So overconfident.

The average-sized warships hooked the battlecruiser and remotely deactivated, for a limited time, its laser weaponry.

Had they know this ship was filled with Sith and a powerful Dark Lord, they would have run for their lives. Unfortunately for them, the darkness shall swallow anything that stands in its path.

These pirates that Nihilus met were called the 'Thras'. They are a crew of space pirates that roam isolated solar systems in search of treasure or ship components to sell.

The Republic never managed to capture them. But at least this darkness shall destroy them.

The pirates were aboard the Ravager. And there, they were greeted by a vile number of shadow troopers and some Sith Warriors.

The pirates were not weaklings. Among them were also pirates schooled in the arts of combat: of lightsabre combat. Among them were even Force sensitive.

In the Command Room, increasing his hearing with the Force, Nihilus heard the loud cracks of lightsabres, kick and fist strikes, laser blaster blows hitting ceiling, the floor, people.

But any lord has their most trustful servants who are able to make the right choices in bad circumstances. Such one was the black male Zabrak Dwayk Dredd. A tall Zabrak, whose size was only eclipsed by Nihilus', who became a Sith general under the Lord of Hunger's command shortly after Traya's exile.

Dredd stood next to Nihilus, caressing the hilt of his twin lightsabres, "Master Nihilus, should I assist them?", his green eyes shun with dark side power while the breeze inside was fluttering his dark robe.

The Dark Lord hissed three times showing him a vision of death with all the pirates on the ship.

"As you wish, my lord.", Dredd slowly walked away from the Dark Lord with no apparent reaction of stress or impatience even if the number of pirates was greater. He knew that his Master's power was even greater than any of them.

Dredd looked at the zombie crew once more and gently Force opened the door, leaving the Command Room. He was not alone, though. Nihilus was with him, watching through the omnipresent eye of the Force. He watched the Zabrak Sith's every step. Every move the alien made.

Halls were infested with bloody pirates shouting, "Ar-ar-ar!", and with many fallen shadow troopers joined by Sith Warriors.

A group of pirates broke the door with their blaster rifles. Dredd powered up his right lightsabre: and a purple beam flashed to life. He never used his twins at the same time in combat. Either one or the other. Though, his aptitude in using two was very proficient. And he trained intensively, continuously honing his art in lightsabre combat. Dredd would never use two lightsabre against those untouched by the Force. They would not deserve it. They were weak. And just as he proved it in combat when he easily dodged the pirates' laser blasts.

As he used the Force, everything seemed to move to a slower pace while he was moving just normal. The Zabrak span his lightsabre like an air screw, repelling the laser blows, piercing his into the guts of the pirates. He did many other things to those pirates. To some he severed their arms and sliced their bodies off in half. A few were beheaded or had their necks and bones crunched by the Zabrak's physical strength. Dredd was a perfect killing machine. A brute in combat. And that's why he was chosen as Nihilus' general.

As the Zabrak made his way through the crowd of pirates, mercilessly slaughtering them. Each body fell before the Zabrak's eyes appeasing the Hunger of the Dark Lord, empowering him with their deaths.

Every pirate who had no Force sensitivity and a lightsabre was an easy prey to a Sith.

Dredd slid to oblique and slashed every pirate, rapidly Force pushing through a door.

The next room was full of Sith troopers fighting against Thras Warriors, Force sensitive pirates wielding blue lightsabres stolen from deceased Jedi or acquired from crystal caves.

The door opened. A Thras Warrior noticed a black figure irradiating with dark side energy. A violet blade came out of the alien's hilt.

"A Sith Lord!", the Thras Warrior pointed at the alien when he pierced a trooper's stomach.

They entered into the very lair of the Sith: one of the most mistrusted, vicious and dangerous forces in the galaxy.

The Sith were the hunters and they were the hunted.

"Dammit!"

"Contact Kraylyn!"

Another Thras Warrior took the portable comlink and set a transmission with the pirate leader. As the Thras Warrior contacted Krylyan, the Zabrak started to run, Force slamming them by the walls. Dredd's purple blade and their blue blades clashed.

Dredd dodged a pirate's lightsabre blow with his blade and quickly struck him down by increasing his speed.

"You have brought doom upon yourself by trying to claim our flagship. The Sith cannot fall that easily, scum."

"We're the predators and you're our prey."

Dredd closed his eyes, allowing the dark side to flow through his veins.

Rage burned his body like fire, enhancing his muscles and his physical senses. The Zabrak's green eyes turned to yellow and they were glowing with orange flames.

The Sith Lord moved at a different pace than the Thras Warriors, overwhelming them with his sudden burst of power. Dredd broke through their defense with his dark side empowered sheer strength.

In Kraylyn's private room, a hologram appeared,

"Sir, this a Sith warship.", the signal was jammed by the Zabrak, using the Force, preventing them from calling any backups,

"Se-, for-", the Zabrak sliced the Thras Warrior's head. Kraylyn saw the pirate's head rolling over the floor. And the transmission ended.

Kraylyn placed his fingers on the button that controlled the ship's speakers, "We got some Sith here. Prepare to send more Thras Warriors on that Centurion Battlecruiser."

"No matter what. That ship will be ours."

Thras Warriors embarked on the Ravager from numerous space ships. But each time they came to seize the battlecruiser, they always fell by the Zabrak's red blade.

After two hours of trying to take over the massive ship, Kraylyn realized that if the Sith warship is not blown off, the Sith will come and murder him. After all he could've taken the remaining components of the battlecruiser. If any were left in the ensuing battle.

As his trusted servant, the Zabrak Dredd, butchered Kraylyn's pirates, Nihilus observed the warships charging energy to shatter his Ravager.

The Dark Lord created a massive Force shield, repelling the warships' orange blast attacks.

Nihilus looked at them, at their failed attempt to break his barrier. And then as he looked onto window: an idea struck his mind. What if, what if he would make the pirate warships clash one with each other? He would be crunching them or sending them into the extreme heat of a star. He would be playing with them as a cat plays with its little ball.

Kraylyn ceased firing the battlecruiser realizing his ships couldn't shatter through the Ravager's Force field. Nihilus Force gripped the warships around him and made them to clash. It created a spectacular explosion. Three warships were tossed like nothing into the heart of a blazing star like a child throwing their toys in the air.

Only one warship remained. Kraylyn's.

Taking advantage of the Dark Lord lowering the Force field. In a desperate attempt: Kraylyn pressed the warship speakers button,

"Use the 'Black Spot'!"

Nihilus Force gripped Kraylyn's warship, ready to implode it. And then a tiny unnoticeable black missile hit a star nearby, destroying its very blazing core. The star's light began to fade away and a black hole was formed.

The Dark Lord didn't lose his grip over the warship and he pressed it forward, killing everyone in it. Nihilus fed with everyone's death making himself stronger.

When the last Thras Warrior in the Ravager perished the black Zabrak healed his own wounds with the Force. Dredd came back at the Command Room only to see a black hole ready to sink the battlecruiser into a sea of void.

"No! We have to flee. Let's go, my lord."

Nihilus disagreed by Force stunning his body. Another shriek escaped his mouth converted into a vision where he would face the sucking power of the black hole and win, "It's a black hole. No one could tame such destructive things. No one is powerful enough to do that."

Nihilus hissed assuring Dredd of his imminent success.

"As you wish, my lord. If we are to perish: it was an honor to be among the greatest of the Sith Lords."

After their small dialogue ended Nihilus clung on the void to make it suck into itself.

The Dark Lord faced the black hole by asserting his dominance over it. Nihilus called upon his power ordering the black hole to suck into itself until it disappeared. So it happened. The void was gone just like a man's wound. But the act itself was difficult. The effort caused Nihilus to collapse on his knees despite he could no longer feel any physical pain. If he would feel pain when he forced the black hole to suck into itself: he'd have felt each bone of his flesh cracking, each organ exploding inside him while his blood would drip down the floor. And finally succumb to death. But Nihilus was lucky. So lucky.

The Zabrak helped Nihilus to get up and he appeared to be in shape again. "My doubtful words were not true. I knew you'd succeed, my lord. I knew you would not fail the Sith Triumvirate.", Dredd flattered him. And Nihilus loved it.

"But", he said, "what now?", Dredd waited for an answer from his master.

The master hissed for five seconds and offered one. He showed him a vision of a small region in the galaxy, about seven thousand light years across, that hid unusual worlds. This region was home to some thirty billion of the galaxy's oldest stars, and at its center was a massive black hole surrounded by antimatter and dense clusters where stars were only a hundredth of a light year apart. The Deep Core.

"Understood, my lord.", Dredd kneeled before his sovereign, "The Deep Galactic Core."

The worlds from there should be ready. For he darkness shall fall there too.

It comes to swallow them.


	10. Part II: The Shroud of the Dark Side

The Shroud of the Dark Side

Part II

Chapter X

As Darth Sion began his swift vicious strikes within the Coruscant system, wiping worlds aligned to the Jedi Order. The other Dark Lord, Darth Nihilus, intended to reach the Deep Core to acquire dark side secrets. But in the end, these planets, where he had furnished his dark side lore from, would have been destroyed. Eventually. And he knew it. That is why he sought to learn as much as he could about the nature of the dark side. In turn, he might have found a cure to his Force energy addiction. Nihilus never wanted this sickness that was plaguing his essence. Like all Sith: he wanted to impose his will over the lesser ones. The weak.

But take your eyes away from the darkness for a slight moment. And let yourself carried by the Force's will throughout the cosmic dark. If you wonder yourself:

Where?

Your destination would take you within the Deep Core.

But what was Deep Core? You ask yourself.

Deep Core is a profitable wide galactic space that houses countless of unknown planets. Some contain light side teachings. Others possess dark side lore.

The moment this alliance has been forged, Nihilus didn't express any particular interest of destroying the Jedi as he did before: with a burning desire. Now he showed himself more inclined on amassing dark side lore rather than seeking the annihilation of the entire Jedi Order and their supporters.

The Jedi no longer held a primary goal. All that mattered was the pure sensation of power. Yes. Supreme power. For power gave him the ability to bend others to his will to glorify himself and be served and adored without his authority to be questioned.

To Nihilus it did not matter what or who was destroyed in order to take it. Power was all that matter. The only purpose of his very existence. Only after he found a cure to his plague, he would focus on conquering the galaxy.

The secrets of the dark side were there. Sealed within the Deep Core. Nihilus knew, however, that it would have taken him a quite long, long time, to reach that vast place. And the Sith needed his aid. After all he was part of the Sith Order. There had to be an easier way. There should be.

Dredd had something to confess to his master, "My lord", he hesitated for fraction of second. Nihilus felt he hid something and he hissed at the Zabrak.

"I kept something I claimed from a dead Thras Warrior.", Dredd showed it to his lord Darth Nihilus.

It was grey and had a pyramidal shape. The object was relative light to hold in the hand. Nihilus knew what it was. He recognized its familiar shape. It was an ancient holocron. But whether it contained Jedi or Sith knowledge, they could not know. At least until they open it to discover its mesmerizing secrets. And Nihilus was about to do just that.

That was until a flying drone came out of the darkness spoiling their attempt. The drone beeped displaying a blue tridimensional image with the Lord of Pain.

"I am on the barren planet Platoril.", Sion added while being surrounded by a couple of Sith assassins. Nihilus remained silent and Sion continued his talk. "It seems this is a world infested with Jedi exactly as my spies claimed.", Sion turned his look at a great fortified Jedi Temple for a moment.

Nihilus hissed four times at Sion. His shriek was translated into a vision where Sion would lead his assassins to decimate the Jedi using brute force. Sion received his vision disagreeing, "There's a huge gate protected by Jedi who are inside the building. They use the Force. They are like frightened children. Instead of facing us, they merely bolster the will and combat skill of these soldiers. Cowards!"

"We did our best. But we can't break through."

"We need your assistance.", Sion deflected a laser bolt from a republican soldier and he killed him.

But Nihilus was not there. So, how could he help them? Unless. Unless he would use the Force to shatter those massive gates.

When it came about the Force. Physical contact was not always required. Sometimes, an image was enough for a practitioner to express his Force abilities.

Sion received a vision where the Lord of Hunger would blast the gates using his immense display of telekinesis. Sion followed his lead moving three-hundred-sixty degrees away from his portable comlink's range, allowing Nihilus to see a clear shape of the temple's huge doors. They were brown, solid, concrete made, marked with Jedi symbols.

Sion saw the tiny tridimensional blue image from his comlink as Nihilus straightened his hands and tightened his black gloves.

Gathering enough telekinetic power, Nihilus Force assaulted the massive gates. Sion saw a visible white aura of raw Force energy covering both of the gates.

Inside the temple, the thirty Jedi Masters sensed the massive power that was trying to break in.

"It's so strong. I've never felt anything like it. I don't think we can go on like this.", an Elomin added.

That power was beyond theirs. Nihilus overcame their strength. And he not only disrupted their powerful Force field. The collision of two forces meeting each other hurled them backwards slamming them by the temple's inner walls. The impact so powerful: it broke their bones. And this was just a small expression of Nihilus' power. After all he had to take care of his plague.

When the Jedi's barrier was gone, Nihilus directed another telekinetic blast at the gates. This time, the gates were blasted into ruin. Like they never existed. One would need to be able to perceive things at an atomic level to see the fragments.

When the gates were destroyed and the thirty Jedi Masters were killed, an army of Jedi Knights came out of their sacred temple. They had no fear against the Sith: they were running towards them igniting their green and blue lightsabres.

"Jedi are coming out of their shell at last. Now the real battle begins.", Sion interrupted the conversation storming into the Jedi Temple's yard.

Meanwhile, on the Ravager, Nihilus and his trusted general Dredd resumed their activity.

"It won't reveal its content to us, my lord.", the Zabrak added.

Although Nihilus spotted an inscription written in Basic on the holocron's downside.

No longer able to speak Basic, Nihilus had Dredd to recite the inscription instead.

"I summon the Lord of Knowledge of Hedens. Show me the power of the dark side.", Dredd slowly recited staring at the Dark Lord's boned-mask painted with vertical blood lines and its forehead amulet.

The holocron revealed itself, unleashing waves of dark side energy, filling the Command Room with violet flashes of light. The zombie crew didn't show any reaction to the sudden apparition of purple light. They were just doing their work.

"Lord Khas'denarri of Hedes is at your service."

Given the holocron held the knowledge of its creator and not their actual consciousness. The holocron itself couldn't understand its summoner's hissings. A reason why Dredd received the order to communicate with the holocron.

"My master wants your secrets, Lord of the Hedens.", to show his pure intentions Dredd bowed before it.

The holocron beeped, "My creed is to spread my dark side knowledge not to keep it to myself.", it beeped again, "Say what do you want?", the holocron's voice echoed on a lower tone.

"My lord Nihilus wants to get into the Deep Core. You might hold the power we're looking for."

The man who stored his knowledge into the device had yellow eyes, brown skin, grey beard, half of his smooth face covered by a brown hood.

In spite of Khas'denarri's dark side alignment, he seemed to be healthy in the holocron, not having its corrosive effects on his face. Or it was a just a recording before the human male fully committed submission to the dark side of the Force.

"Time goes away fast and you need to try your best. Fortunately for you, there is a way to reach there, though."

The Hedens Lord's tridimensional image said in rhymes.

"A bright light shall touch your minds showing you how to bend time."

Each holocron was designed to response in a unique way to those who wanted to discover its teachings. Some did it through words. Others tested people's skills.

The one Nihilus held in his very hands did not present any tests or warnings. Instead, there were two beams of dark side energy that hit their foreheads.

Now he understood. He understood how to move himself and others through the fabric of the cosmic dark. How to move the Ravager.

Nihilus raised his arms horizontally unlocking the power of the dark side through uncontrolled rage and wrath.

Red purple streaks of lightning passed through the Command Room's windows forming a huge hole of green color. Enough for his battlecruiser to fit in.

The Ravager slowly started to shake itself again.

The ship got into the hole's centre, disappearing from the Malachor's borders.

The Zabrak warrior saw the diversity of colors inside the vortex. But the Force was absent. Dredd couldn't sense anymore the familiar energy that flowed through his black veins. There was no cold and there was no warm either.

Though their trip into the multicolored cosmic whirlpool seemed quite long. Actually time was relative short outside of it.

After three long hours of waiting and stress, the unknown was before them at last...

THE DEEP GALACTIC CORE!


	11. Part III: The Shroud of the Dark Side

The Shroud of the Dark Side

Part III

Chapter XI

Darth Nihilus roamed the vast cosmic vacuum of the Deep Core with his Ravager. Ready to blast anything that dared to challenge him.

The Shreggernemyx is the solar system where the Ravager arrived. The Ravager's master hoped that here would be the place where he would collect more dark side knowledge to increase his power.

The Shreggernemyx system contained fourth suns: Derkl, The Small Derkl, Shyst and Croz. These suns had a planet for each of them. And one moon for each planet.

Nihilus could feel those worlds teeming with life. Though some were inhabited.

As Nihilus ventured with his seemingly invincible flying cruiser, he saw a planet bursting with the dark side of the Force. Its violet aura was intense and constantly emitted powerful ripples across the solar system.

The Zabrak, who stood next to his lord, sensed the same feeling. He sensed the planet's tainted energy as if he was there. As if it was directly pulsating into his own flesh.

Stratos, the dark side planet Nihilus aimed for dark side lore, was lit by Croz's sun rays and orbited by the Shedrik moon.

The Dark Lord watched Stratos through the eye of the Force. The world was barren with a mountainous relief and little fauna or vegetation.

Though, somewhere over there, it was evidence of sentient life form.

Nihilus saw ancient stone-made temples, a valley of tombs and an average-sized altar worshipping a dark side mysterious divinity made of iron mixed with stone material.

The god looked like a human male wearing an unnatural black armor and a two-horned mask that covered the upper half of its face. It seemed familiar.

The strange suit remembered the Dark Lord about a bizarre alien he met during his days as a simple merchant.

And then, he saw men. They were a tribe of people dressed in red robes, marked with purple symbols, adoring their priceless statue of the god.

This tempted Nihilus to enter into their world, but he did not know their habits nor their reactions seeing a ghost spaceship.

He thought his Sith presence might trigger some alarm among the Stratos inhabitants. And he realized if he scared them, any chance to claim dark side lore would have been gone. Unless if someone else visited the planet. Someone like Dredd.

Some could say that the Dark Lord's professional relationship with the black Zabrak enhanced. Some could say they become something very much alike master and apprentice.

Darth Nihilus hissed but on a low tone, with greater depth. In his vision Dredd would arrive on the planet and learn more about that world.

"I'll do as you command, my lord."

Dredd headed at the hangar bay. And as he walked, his body released imposing waves of dark side energy. Most of the crew feared the cold blooded Zabrak. He was the strongest of them. No one dared to challenge him. If they did, Dredd would pierce his lightsabre into their guts.

"Open it.", Dredd said on a low tone to a Sith trooper,

"Yes, my lord.", the trooper pushed the lever and the hangar's doors opened.

Dredd picked a random but operational starship and made himself comfortable.

The vessel's engines slowly started to burst heat. And then: fire. The ship burst with speed in a blink outside of the battlecruiser's hangar bay.

One hour next and Dredd was approaching the barren mountainous planet. At first impression there was no danger as his vessel penetrated through Stratos' atmosphere and there was nothing to threaten the structure of the ship

The Zabrak landed near the inhabitants' houses but he left his spaceship on a small mountain's peak so he wouldn't lose it, if something bad happened.

Dredd climbed down the mount with his right hand laid on his left lightsabre.

The Zabrak was a cautious Sith Warrior, always had a keen eye for anything wrong might happen and always a blade which he would use to strike down anything that threatened his own life.

Dirt peeves crumbled, the air was warmed by breathing, two iron blades friendly clashed in a 'x' by two black gloves. Someone was coming up or behind him?

Dredd stepped more carefully this time, slowing the pace of his walk. Ready to strike down the unknown life form.

In a blink, twenty red-eyed blue human-like creatures with dark robes made their presence known. They carried metallic blades empowered by the dark side. Their faces were barely visible, but they were physically deformed and withered.

"Step no further. Our mighty lord does not tolerate outsiders.", one of those humanoids added.

Dredd said nothing and activated his twins.

The men lunchedat him. Dredd Force pushed three away, hitting their organs. Ten men shot dark blasts from their blades. The Zabrak got tossed by the mountain's rocks.

The alien took his lightsabres back and lashed at them. Blade clashed blade. Power clashed with power. Dredd cracked his teeth and screamed by succumbing himself to the dark side to become a mindless beast.

That rage became fire. A fire that made him a living weapon of destruction.

The black Zabrak's eyes looked filled with red flames and his appetite for blood grew.

Each human-like creature fell under the edge of his purple twins. They were pierced and decapitated. Dredd grabbed one with his bare hands and tore him apart. The humanoid's blood exploding on his face white marks.

The Zabrak made out of them a pool of death and blood. But there was still one. The last one placed his palms on the dirt.

The soil trembled as if it was an earth-quake. A huge dragon made of rocks was summoned. Ridden by the freak creature.

The sudden fire that burned his very flesh was gone allowing the alien to gain back his lucidity.

To not slide accidentally over his Sith robe, Dredd removed it. Underneath the robe, the Zabrak wore a black Mandalorian armor that increased his durability in combat.

The stone dragon stomped the ground with its massive feet producing shock waves. Dredd Force leaped fifteen meters to vertical, ready to deliver the fatal blow by striking the dragon's forehead.

The rider span his shinny purple blade like an air screw unleashing a powerful blast that struck the Zabrak and let him knock-out on the harsh soil.

The rider commanded the dragon to approach the black alien and check his condition.

Dredd slowly opened his yellow eyes and rapidly jumped on the dragon's bulky back.

Dredd dodged the rider's blow and grabbed him by the neck throwing him off of the stone dragon's back.

Dredd let the dark side to consume him again. Potent blue sparks of lightning engulfed the beast, turning it into small pieces of hot rocks, burned by the residual fire of the lightning. And they were still shaking themselves.

The angry Zabrak Force gripped the humanoid creature before he ran away and pulled him back.

The Sith Warrior caught him by his right leg and pierced his purple blade into the man's very heart.

The blow was swift and painless. Just as the rocks: Dredd was tough and cold.

The man's death did not upset him oor the frightened sight of the man who begged for mercy, eventually struck down by the Zabrak's blade.

In the ensuing fight, a shadow appeared out of nowhere behind the Zabrak,

"Such cruelty. Such cruelty.", the shadow sighed with a bit of irony,

"What?", the Zabrak said before a red lightning touched his very skin. The lightning made its way through his entire body, rendering him unconscious. Or was he more than unconscious? Was he dead?

Back on the Ravager, Nihilus saw and sensed his servant's near death experience as a major disturbance in the Force when he was hit by Force lightning.

The Dark Lord thought it was time to reveal himself, until he was the eye-witness of something. Of something extraordinary.

Through the Force's eye, Nihilus saw his general with metal restraints on an operating table.

The uncanny figure placed its right first three fingers on the alien's forehead. Blue lightnings crossed through the Zabrak's body, healing his injuries and taking him back to reality.

Dredd slowly regained his consciousness, but still seeing blurs of the reality. As his sight got better, he saw a human, with white skin and black long tied hair, standing before him.

When the shapes of the reality were again 'whole', Dredd saw a man dressed in a black suit wearing a dark elegant cape.

The man seemed as if he was there to observe his reactions.

Dredd tried to break free of the restraints shaking his hands and legs. No successful result.

"You can do that all the day", the man added, "you won't escape."

"Those restraints are blocking your Force abilities."

Dredd saw the room's walls decorated with strange paintings, hunting trophies.

"Who are you?", his voice ran deep.

"My apologizes, Zabrak.", the man smirked,

"I am Alosyius Zevestyre. Head of the Hedes Lords."

"Hedes Lords?", Dredd responded shocked.

Alosyius understood his shocking utterance after deciphering fragments of Zabrak's mind. All became clear to him.

"It seems you found the holocron of one of our banished members. The so-called 'Lord of Knowledge'. Am I right?"

"Then you must know why I am here, Lord Alosyius."

"What else but power."

Alosyius was the most powerful of the Hedes Lords: son to Shael Zevestyre and grandson to Sirak Zevestyre.

Alosyius was of royal blood. And his roots were traced back to Freedon Nadd himself. The man who had used his terrible power to enslave the planet Onderon.

Some of Nadd's relatives had managed to escape and journeyed the Deep Core after the Dark Lord's spiritual death at the hand of his Sith apprentice Exar Kun.

Nadd's distant relatives found a species of near humans.

The descendants easily got rid off Stratos' authority and subjugated the people's will with the dark side as Nadd did in the past with the Onderon.

Alosyius told Dredd of what he knew about the planet, about the other Hedes Lords and about him as well. He knew that anyone who visited Stratos came to seek dark side power for various reasons. But as the tradition of Sith dictated…

'If one craves power, they have to face their trials'.

Many faced those trials, but no one succeeded, at least until now. Dredd was sure of his doing. So overconfident in his abilities.

Ten Hedes Lords ruled Stratos under Alosyius' command. And Dredd had to face them after he would have passed those tests.

The Zabrak managed to pass the challenges in one hour, almost flawlessly. His Force potency allowed him to slay the hordes of freak near humans and Sith-alchemized blood thirsty monsters created by Alosyius.

Yet facing those ten Hedes Lords was like passing through the very bowels of fire and chaos. Alosyius was so desperate to keep the dark side knowledge to himself that he ordered the ten Hedes Lords to fight together the mighty Zabrak warrior. And they lost.

Dwayk Dredd was a blazing hurricane where rocks and peeves exploded when he walked over them or passed by them. With his strength in the Force increased he looked like as if he was the bright magma storm of a sun, only sustained and fueled by rage.

Alosyius was sitting on his majestic throne paved with gold. The Hedes Lord was surrounded by a couple of primitive men who were fulfilling his fancy whims. Dropping wine into his royal glass, waving wind over his pale face with their huge folding fans, bringing him exotic fruits harvested on Stratos' plains.

Meanwhile, the Zabrak was lying in the Chabssa Arena. The very place where he slew the ten lesser Hedes Lords and many other horrible monsters. No, Dredd was the horrible monster. And he irradiated with dark side energy.

The Chabssa Arena was completely ruined. Broken pillars, broken gates, broken 'lords'. The whole arena was swallowed by the voracious blue flames resulted from their contest: either by blade, either by the Force.

The blue flames ignited the sand making the hot grains to blow.

The flames burned the sand even now despite their fight was over about two hours. The only thing Dredd did during that time, was 'nothing' because he was fainted. Although the Zabrak was collapsed, the Dark Lord did nothing with his unfathomable powers.

Nihilus waited to see what would the Zabrak do. Had he failed, the Dark Lord would have come personally to claim Alosyius' knowledge. Had the tough alien succeeded, he'd have to go on with the mission. So it happened. Dredd survived.

Air molecules passed through his body, restarting his blood flux, pumping up air again into his lungs, his heart and veins. His black nose slightly moved, his lips tasted the air instinctively. His eyes open a bit.

A high pitch sound woke up the ferocious Zabrak. His portable comlink, on the sand, beeped. His hands were shaking as he tried to get up, his muscles trembled because of the great physical effort he did.

Dredd Force lifted up in the air the comlink drawing it in his own hands. He pressed the button and a blue hologram with the dread Dark Lord flashed to life. He waited to hear what would Lord Nihilus tell. Nihilus hissed through the comlink: his voice echoed in the Chabssa Arena. And the wind there seemed to carry the disturbing sounds further.

"I see, my Lord.", Dredd's injured shoulder provoked him pain. He groaned and sweat dripped down his forehead and black eyebrows.

"If I'd not be in such a bad shape. I would defeat Alosyius."

Nihilus hissed, demanding Dredd to face him if he wasn't willing to share his secrets.

"I forgot to tell you, but the holocron you possess belonged to one of their members who was banished."

"This planet with the last one living known offspring of the ancient Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd might help us in destroying the Jedi."

"I succeeded in facing Alosyius' ten lesser Hedes Lords who were meant to be a trial for me to have a chance so he could tell me what knowledge he may hold.", Dredd cracked his teeth as the sweat dripped down his black nose, "If I wasn't that hurt. . .", he silently groaned due to that pain back caused by the ten Hedes Lords. And not only his pain back. He would blame them for his bad right knee, his wounded left arm, his chest slightly burned by their bronze lightsabres.

If Dredd'd have spent more time studying than practicing with a blade, he'd have had healed himself. But, he couldn't.

Nihilus saw the alien's ravaged body that passed through a pandemonium. And if the pawn was broken but still loyal, then he, as a Sith Lord opportunist that he was, why not to fix the tool?

Nihilus slowly raised to horizontal his right palm. Black steams engulfed the Zabrak's wounded flesh forming a concentrated dark orb blocking his physical sight as if he were eaten by the very essence of darkness.

The dark side energies made their way into his body, healing his bad shape limbs and his back pain.

The process hurt. Dredd felt the dark energies rapidly and aggressively healing his wounded points.

The blackened sphere faded away and the Zabrak's body was in good shape again.

Nihilus hissed three times,

"Yes, my Lord. I appreciate your helping hand."

"And yes, I won't fail you. I cannot allow myself to disappoint you."

Nihilus gently laughed hissing again,

"May the Dark Side be with us.", Dredd added and Nihilus nodded.

The Zabrak ended the contact gazing at Stratos' sun's crimson-like rays.

"Yes. The Sith shall win this day.", Dredd watched the orange sun as its rays reflected in his yellow eyes filled with vindictive flames.

Inside the Hedes Castle, Alosyius was enjoying in watching red hot-looking Twi'lek slaves dancing for him. How they got there, only Alosyius held the answers in his grasp.

As his lust for woman flesh grew, the doors of his large room opened.

"Alosyius. I passed the infernal trials. I'm here to show my lord what you know. You'll pass your knowledge to him through me. I am the messenger."

"Leave us.", Alosyius waved his right hand from his golden throne telling his Twi'leks to go

But something happened. Something unexpected. A Twi'lek pierced the Zabrak's cold heart starting to warm the ice around it.

Alosyius sensed it. And what better way to defeat an enemy than breaking their very heart. And Dredd slowly began to have one. Now.

"My bad, Sith Warrior. I promise I'll show you everything I know. If you'll beat me in a fight."

"Let's do it.", Dredd readied his lightsabres. Though, Alosyius didn't desire to battle. At least not at this moment.

"Let's don't rush. Let me be kind with you. At least now."

"Kyira", he said about one of the Twi'leks, "will lead you to the Guests Chambers."

"We will fight tomorrow.", Alosyius added by watching the window thinking how he'd get rid off that hateful Zabrak. How he'd torture him.

Dredd left Alosyius' room and followed the red nice-looking female alien.

The hefty black Zabrak contacted the Dark Lord, "My Lord, tomorrow I'll fight Alosyius."

Nihilus hissed raising the tone. He seemed angry.

"Yes, my Lord. But I promise you won't wait anymore. Tomorrow, Alosyius will give us his very secrets.", the hologram faded away.

Kyiara jumped in the bed with Dredd, luring him there like a siren sings and draws sailors to the depths of the seas.

"The bed's warm and cozy. Don't be shy.", Kyiara said slapping the bed's red fur bag. At first, Dredd was harsh. But after his hell trials, he slowly began to soften. Wine, alcohol, unlimited attention, the carnal desire: it made him snap. Kyiara asked for secrets from the Zabrak, and the Zabrak, full of overconfidence, confessed secrets about him and his allies. Especially about the one whom he served. It was a crazy night for the two aliens. They escaped the physical reality through their fancy words, body lust and jokes.

The night burned bright with their intense passion for hours. But as beautiful as it were, it had to end. It ended.

The fire of passion was gone and the cold silence of night fell over the colossal castle.

The rays of Stratos' sun made their way into his room through the large transparent window glasses, warming the Zabrak's nose stimulating his sensory system.

Dredd half-opened his yellow eyes and stretched his arms. This was one of the best days he has ever had. He was relaxed both physically and mentally. He finally fulfilled his lust for flesh. A Sith, after all, are not allowed to sleep with anyone. That would only have weakened their strength in the dark side of the Force. And Dwayk Dredd forgot this thing. He broke one of the tenets of the Sith Order. Whatever happens the Dark Lord must not find out this.

"I can't believe, I slept with a slave.", Dredd thought, at the same moment, frowning his eyebrows, somewhat behaving with indifference with the red attracting Twi'lek.

"Whatever, Zabrak Sith.", Kyiara took her slave suit back on her body. And now she seemed distant too.

After the Twi'lek left the room, Dredd dressed with his black clothes and contacted the Dark Lord.

Nihilus' holographic image appeared,

"This is the day when the secrets shall come to you."

The Dark Lord hissed: his voice echoed throughout the room.

"I understand, my lord. I'll not disappoint you.", otherwise he would be destroyed by the Dark Lord.

Dredd turned off his portable comlink and picked up his hilt on the wooden table.

Now this was the day he'd strike down the Supreme Hedes Lord and take his secret of resurrection. Even as he looked onto window he remembered how he killed the lesser Hedes Lords. First Hedes Lord had the head chopped off. The second fell crushed by the arena's pylons. The third was blasted into a wall and his body crumbled. Where the rest were turned into charred husks by his blue lightning.

But maybe it was too late. Kyiara informed Alosyius about Dredd's weaknesses.

"Excellent.", the slave alien was dismissed.

"Now that Sith Lord won't even know what hit him.", Alosyius laughed in silence prideful and overconfident.

Dredd put his hands on the golden doorknobs slowly pressing them down.

"Lord Alosyius. I am here."

Alosyius gently stood up Force pulling his lightsabres: one in his right side, another in his left side. Both of his laser blades were placed in two Hedes Lord stone statues' hands.

"Given you destroyed my Chabbsa Arena. We will battle..."

"Where?", Dredd asked while Alosyius activated his two lightsabres,

"RIGHT HERE!"

The left purple blade and the orange one crossed. Alosyius lunched and the Zabrak did the same. Their blades collided. Dredd attacked with ferocity and aggression. Alosyius struck with elegance and precision. Both swiftly Force leaped back. Alosyius tossed chairs and wooden tables in the Zabrak. Dredd sliced the chairs and jumped on the tables quickening his pace. Alosyius Force choked the alien, ready to twist his neck. Dredd struggled to reach out with the Force and slammed the human by the golden throne.

Dredd slowly but menacing approached the Hedes Lord ready to spit his secrets.

Was the Supreme Hedes Lord so easily defeated? The most powerful of them?

No.

Alosyius learned about the Zabrak's arrogance and overconfidence. And now he was ready to use them against him.

Dredd looked at the pathetic Hedes Lord, prepared to break him and unveil his very dark secrets.

Dredd's purple shiny blades were at his neck,"Now, spit it out.", the Zabrak grabbed Alosyius by the neck with his left hand. Alosyius slowly half-opened his eyes and,"Fool!", Alosyius Force gripped the Zabrak and struck his flesh with powerful red lightning bolts. Lightning bolts crossed through the Zabrak's body and his organs. With enough strength, Dredd filled his own body with Force energy. Dredd unleashed a potent telekinetic sphere slamming Alosyius by the ceiling.

Alosyius fell down and manipulated the fabric of space shaping a multicolor vortex under the Zabrak's feet. Both reached into the whirlpool fighting inside. Alosyius and the Zabrak got outside of the massive castle. Their blades clashed and clashed. Collided and collided. Dredd caught off guard the Hedes Lord Force-pulling Alosyius's red lightsaber.

The Supreme Hedes Lord began to float using the Force. Small things like rocks and peeves were attracted by Alosyius' huge dark hurricane with red lightnings.

The vile wind produced by Alosyius' hurricane began dragging the Zabrak within it. Dredd bolstered his pace and hid behind a house.

"Stupid Zabrak. I am Alosyius Zevestyre: descendant of the Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd.", the human shouted as his voice was amplified by the hurricane.

"His great power flows through my veins!", Alosyius expressed those words in a dramatic way and laughed with malevolence as the red lightnings got stronger and stronger as his rage and hatred were intensifying.

Dredd never faced anything like Alosyius Zevestyre. Alosyius' green eyes turned to purple. His eyes shun with dark side power. He was a mobile nexus of the darkness. His dark energy blackened the blue sky of the morning and tainted the lands as he laughed.

.This was no longer a battle defined by lightsabre prowess. This was a sure loss for the Zabrak.

In a desperate manner the Zabrak called for help from the Dark Lord.

Inside the Ravager, Nihilus saw the planet's immersion into the full grip of the dark side.

The planet suddenly began to manifest potent lightning storms. Purple lightning storms.

"Lord Nihilus, this is beyond my power. Come here and deliver me."

Had he failed, he'd die. That was the Dark Lord's last word after all.

But blind loyalty and execution of orders without questioning them was a rare quality found in most Sith. Dredd was useful and still loyal. Nihilus agreed his call for help and was prepared to came.

The ghost battlecruiser penetrated Stratos' atmosphere. And Alosyius felt an unusual chill over his spine.

"What's this?". Alosyius enhanced his vision and saw a hole in the Force.

The Dark Lord's Ravager was above the planet's orbit.

Alosyius spotted a shuttle and there he felt the same feeling of death.

Nihilus landed with his shuttle in the middle of the lightning storms ready to rip the secrets from the Supreme Hedes Lord. At the same time he was telekinetically holding his own Ravager from falling apart.

Alosyius directed lightning bolts at the hole. But the hole caught them with bare hands redirecting them at the Hedes Lord hitting him.

The Dark Lord Force choked the royal blood and assaulted his body with dark thunderbolts. But Nihilus spared him. For now.

Nihilus' 'hissings induced vision' made Alosyius to understand who was the real person that craved his very knowledge.

"I understand now everything. Forgive my demeanor, reaper of stars."

Alosyius agreed and gave the Dark Lord a scroll that was inherited from his father. The power to bring one back to life from near death experiences.

"This was my father's scroll. Take it Sith Lord. But spare me."

The Zabrak showed himself again standing side by side with his own master.

The Dark Lord was about to destroy Alosyius Zevestyre alongside Stratos. But a far more terrible idea was suggested by the black Zabrak.

"My lord don't kill him. That would be a fortunate service brought to his highness."

"Better block his ties to the Force.", Dredd smirked joyful,

"He shall see what happens when the Stratos peopleare gonna figure out that he no longer can control them.",Dredd added.

Nihilus conjured an aura of blackness around Alosyius, blocking his bond with the Force.

The purple eyes turned back to green. The pale grey face turned back to white.

"My power?", Alosyius clenched his right fist trying to Force choke them both.

"What have you done!?", fear crippled into Alosyius' mind and his eye pupils dilated.

"Noooooooooooooo!", Alosyius shouted with vile and rage picking up his bronze lightsabre trying to strike down them both down.

Nihilus quickly Force pulled his red blade dodging Alosyius' bronze blade. Nihilus grabbed the human by the neck with his left hand and lifted him up. Alosyius heard the Dark Lord's twisted evil laughter as he gently shook his head up and down. That was not at all a human laugh. But a disturbing deep distorted laughter.

Nihilus held the human in the air and then Force blasted him with his right hand by the castle's walls rendering him unconscious.

Darth Nihilus and his Zabrak servant entered into the space shuttle heading back at the battlecruiser, leaving the dark side focal planet.

"Lord Nihilus what do we do now?", Dredd added crossing his black arms. Nihilus hissed for forty seconds. A vision of death met by a familiar place occurred in his mind. Malachor V.

"Yes, my lord."

They were returning back to Malachor Five.


	12. A Zabrak's Mission

A Zabrak's Mission

Chapter XII

The Dark Lord was walking in circle quickening his pace inside the Trayus Core. Next to him were the Academy's Headmaster Shersach and the Sith Marauder Darth Sion.

"Our Sith students are getting stronger with each day that passes.", Shersach added standing next to Nihilus's left .

"Soon our forces will purge all the Jedi weakling.", Sion increased the raspy and imposing tone of his voice. Nihilus hissed at them expressing no concern.

"I fought Jedi and killed them. Shersach produced powerful Sith Lords.", Sion added boiling with hate, "And you!?"

"Everything what you did was to haunt the galaxy for some trinkets."

Nihilus hissed in anger. He knew his trip was worth of time.

Shersach felt the tension hanging in the air, "Let's end this nonsense fight and find a better use for our enmity."

"I agree with the Headmaster."

If Sion was the Sith Marauder who struck down Jedi and Nihilus was a planet-destroyer driven by an insatiable Hunger. Shersach was the one in charge with infiltration and information leakage.

The Core Worlds slowly fell under the Sith influence as the Jedi were destroyed, losing their grip of the light side. The balance of the Force was unnoticeably turning in the favor of the dark side. Each death fueled the creepy shadows. Hatred, rage, self insecurity, the lack of hope and faith of civilizations enhanced the grip of the Sith. With each day passing the Sith grew more and more powerful.

Carried in the womb of the Force, you are aware at this moment that the light diminishes to the point of losing its bright. Until it becomes nothing more but a flicker. Even so, there is still hope and faith somewhere out there. In spite of the great darkness, you know the light never truly vanishes. Shrouded by shadows. Yes. Gone forever. Never.

Sometimes all you need is just an intention. An act of benevolence. Such things put everything back in order so undoubtedly you can't realize. A small action of kindness is enough to vanquish the greatest evils in the universe.

For you, this may or may not be true. But for some, like the Jedi, the dark side of the Force is not a permanent condition of existence. It can grow, but never able to draw everything into its malignant grasp. It comes and goes. It's merely a cycle.

But what if the Jedi are wrong? What if there's something much more threatening than the dark side? What if there are things above and beyond the will of the Force? Something that exists entirely outside of its grasp?

We may never have the answer for that. But what you know is enough. Leave everything behind and Now focus on the story that is about to unfold before your eyes.

The Force carries you inside a warship. A Sith warship. There, a deformed figure stands. Not a beast of flash and blood as you would expect. He has a bald head, rotten skin and a missing eye. You know who he is. You have seen him before in the story. He is the Lord of Agony: Darth Sion. And you hear strange sounds. You ask yourself what they are and where they come from. But you get your answer from the Force.

Darth Sion's warship's engines hummed. And now you know. They were warming for a fraction of second the colorless soil of Malachor before it disappeared into the dying blackened clouds.

And you wait for the Lord of Hunger to join Sion's siege. Bthis time Nihilus would not leave the barren world. This time the Dark Lord would spend his time delving deeper into the allure of the dark side. Extending his Sith knowledge. Where Nihilus resided, there were plenty of tomes and volumes containing numerous dark side abilities. He had to discover their secrets!

Leave the Dark Lord to continue his study and focus your attention on Dwayk Dredd, the black Zabrak. If you want to know where he is. You will receive the answer. He is inside the Ravager training in his Sith chamber.

After the events on Stratos, Nihilus made Dredd his Sith apprentice.

But you do not concern yourself regarding that aspect. Instead you watch the Zabrak fighting training battle droids and Triumvirate troopers.

Purple blade touched red blades. Heads rolled over the floor. Arms and legs collapsed.

Metallic heads were severed by a powerful blade directed with swift precision. Processors and wires blew up before his yellow eyes.

Dredd Force pushed them like a tough hammer hitting then against a wall.

As the ferocious Zabrak fought droids and 'volunteer' Sith troopers, the room's doors gently open. A masked Dark Jedi with a dark robe and a light armor interrupted Dredd's harsh training.

The rogue Jedi had a vocalizer mask, like most of the Sith Lords had, that lowered his voice to sound more dominating. "Lord Dredd.", the fallen knight added by nodding. Dredd deactivated his lightsabre, "Enough for today.", Dredd said exhausted and hardly breathing.

Dredd put his hilt back while the remaining Sith troopers were leaving and the spare training droids were disabled.

"What is it?", Dredd crossed his arms.

"Lord Sion demands Lord Nihilus' presence. Immediately."

It passed some long days since the Marauder has left the waste planet and reached into the Core Worlds to wage brutal wars against the Jedi and their supporters.

"My Master studies ancient secrets within Trayus Library. I'll see what Lord Sion wants.", Dredd took his black coat and dark robe on him while sweat dripped down his forehead, nose and lips.

"As you wish, my lord.", the corrupt knight offered another nod.

Dredd's step foots were heard by troopers when he stomped the metallic floor with harshness and quickness.

Dredd entered the Bridge Command Room alongside the fallen Jedi. On the bridge's platform, a flying drone was waiting. Ready to initialize contact with Darth Sion, who was on Chesom Chissan. A planet under the authority of the Jedi Order.

"Leave me, dark Jedi.", Dredd made contact.

"Yes, my lord.", the knight left the Command Room returning to his usual activities.

"I see you. But where is your mighty master?", Sion said on Chesom Chissan.

"Occupied with studying ancient lore of the Sith.", Dredd replied. His words devoid of emotion.

"Again?", Sion grew frustrated cracking his teeth and frowning his eyebrows.

"I'll contact my Master, now."

The Zabrak reached out with the Force sending his inner voice into the Dark Lord's very twisted mind.

Darth Nihilus sent his own thoughts as well into the Zabrak's head.

"I know what he said to me."

"What?", Sion asked,

"Lord Sion, whatever you wanted from my Master", Dredd added with resolveness, "I'll come."

"Very well, then."

"We are waiting you on Chesom Chissan."

The contact ended and Dredd left the Bridge Room to take a Sith shuttle.

On Chesom Chissan, a battle between Jedi and Sith took place. A conflict between light and darkness.

In the sky full of Sith starships and Republic ones, Dredd was coming.

The Zabrak opened the ship's trapdoor and jumped out of it. Dredd used the Force smoothing his impact like falling with his feet on soft furry pillows.

The Zabrak was lucky to find Darth Sion and his assassins near the Stronghold Izaya's Gates.

Sion fought Jedi and soldiers of the Republic. Mercilessly decimating them. Dredd did the same. Maybe with more ferocity. You could understand this the moment when he ripped their heads off their bodies with bare hands while their blood oozed down over his very black nose, eyelids and lips.

After a few fun fights with soldiers and Jedi, Dredd finally met the Dark Lord Darth Sion.

"My Lord", the Zabrak dodged green laser blasts, "what's the mission?"

Sion Force pushed three Republic soldiers in the air and the impact with the ground killed them.

"We managed to ambush them. But this fortress is impenetrable."

"If Nihilus was here", Sion sighed, "he would have made this fortress to crumble itself."

"But what am I supposed to do?", the alien added.

"Izaya, fortunately for us, has a weak spot. But we can't advance together."

"The Izaya Stronghold has many hidden escape tunnels the Jedi don't even know about."

"We could use those old tunnels to destroy them from within."

"But my best men must be here to counterattack the Jedi and the Republic forces. And we can't risk to draw their attention."

"You, on the other hand", Sion repelled a rifle blaster's fire shot, "can adapt to the environment. After all your Master holds you in such high esteem. I'm sure you can do that."

"You're tall, agile and ruthless. A perfect deadly weapon. I always appreciated your kind, Dredd."

"I accept your compliments.", Dredd nodded in reverence.

The Zabrak Force crumbled the stone-paved floor until a hole appeared. Sion covered the Zabrak as he jumped down into the mysterious black hole.

The halls were empty and dark. The place was dusty. Like the halls were not walked by centuries.

In the past, the stronghold had been used by certain members of the ancient Sith Order. The Naga Sadow Disciples. Disciples who had a sought a way to secretly call the ancient Lord's spirit, that was trapped inside his final resting place on Yavin Four, through the use of Sith magic on Chesom Chissan. This planet became a dark side focal and they'd have succeeded if the Jedi hadn't learned about their presence and hadn't prevented their doing. When the Sadow Disciples were destroyed, the planet's dark side taint was cured by the Jedi through a massive use of Force light.

Yet, maybe the dark side's heart still beats. Hidden somewhere in the depths of the Izaya Stronghold's tunnels.

The tunnels were full of traps meant to protect the stronghold and kill the unwelcomed guests. Dredd was about to be hit by giant boulders enough to fit into a hall but he Force crushed it. When he passed that obstacle he was about to get pierced by arrows. And if it was not for his Force barriers, he'd have perished there. Alone.

The events he went through made The Zabrak to walk more carefully, having a keen eye for anything unfortunate might happen.

The halls were like a hell of a maze. Dredd could barely orient in them. It was difficult. But with the Force, nothing was impossible.

The Zabrak stopped for a few moments and laid himself down on the icy black floor. He calmed down and called upon the eye of the Force. Through its eye, he could see anything he wished. In fact he could see all the paths of the halls, those which led to nowhere and the one that led him beneath Izaya's lower levels. It was all clear now. He knew the way to the lower levels. The key to the stronghold's collapse and the destruction of those Jedi and their supporters there.

Dredd took again a keen eye in spite of no real danger. He just liked to be careful. For him if one lost their defense, they lost their live.

The Zabrak walked the long hallway that had fire torches at each two meters on the both sides. Dredd used the Force causing friction between air molecules and turned them into orange glowing flames. Fire touched the torches. And it was light.

Grey bricks filled the gone-doors at the end of the hallway. And the Jedi had no idea about the danger behind the walls. A Sith danger.

Dredd got at the end of the hallway and laid his black right ear on the wall's surface, trying to listen to their talking. Vague sounds of voices. Dredd could hear them thanks to the tiny spots in the wall.

"I got to tell ya a few words, man.", a soldier added holding his blaster rifle, "I hate the lower levels. It creeps me out.", the voice didn't stop, "I think this place might be haunted."

"Whatever this battle's outcome, I hope I'm outta here, fast."

"Don't worry. The Jedi will win. I know it.", the other soldier looked at the ceiling as dust fell down, caused by the men's stomp above Izaya's lower levels.

Dredd was lucky when the soldiers were called by a high-ranking general through their masks,

"Men. Get your asses over here and fight. You stood enough this day!"

The general's voice startled them.

"On a second though. I think the general creeps me out more."

Laser weapons sounded as the soldiers charged their laser bullets in a hurry.

Those thirty soldiers left the room from the Lower Levels. And civilians, like researchers, archeologists, historians, remained there: with a Zabrak peeking. Although there were more rooms inside the Lower Levels, the black Zabrak was next to the one that contained more civilians rather than hefty soldiers.

The black alien stepped backwards a few meters and decreased the pulse of his heart. Then Dredd gently tightened the grip of his lightsabre with his big fingers.

And. Boom!

The bulky alien struck the grey wall shattering it into dozens of pieces with a single laser blade strike. It was a passive sword blow. But it was enhanced by controlled fury and aggression.

"Oh no!"

"A Sith Lord!", a researcher said noticing the Sith Lord's blade illuminating that room.

As fearsome and imposing the alien was. They seemed to be invisible to him, as if they weren't an important matter to him. He's a Sith and he doesn't kill them. Why wouldn't the Sith Lord do that?

If you want to know this thing, the Force would tell you. That is because a Sith is not a brutal and mindless warrior as most would tend to think. A Sith attacks only those who might signify a potential threat to them. A Sith is more than that. A Sith values everything in advantages and weaknesses. A Sith won't waste their resources or their time on insignificant matters.

But if a Sith is threatened, they would kill any potential threat no matter the gender or age.

An archeologist screamed terrified,"No! Call the Jedi. Now!", no one had done anything except the man who yelled horrified.

The archeologist ran at the computer terminal, accessing the communication root, trying to make contact. But a purple blade came out of his chest, "Ahhh-chhhkkkk!", he groaned in pain. Brown eyes slowly closed and a body collapsed over the floor when the alien retracted his blade from the man's holed chest.

Rage burst forth. Released at its finest and purest. For one's foolish defiance, the other ones had to pay the price as well.

Innocents were slaughtered. Total carnage. A luminous blade pierced chests, severed limbs, sliced heads off. A black hand manipulated the air waves turning them into powerful force waves. Force waves slammed men by the room's walls, crushed their bodies and broke their neck bones. Another power he used was to overload their hearts with air until blood exploded all over the place. It was a huge mess of brutally slain corpses...

Dredd caused immeasurable damage to the room. He slashed the computer terminals with his lightsabre. And sparks were present everywhere. He wrecked the astromech droids and those droids serving for communication between two sentient beings.

Soldiers heard the men's desperate screams who were outside the room's automatic doors. And those who were next to them in some other rooms heard their screams too.

A foot stomped the ground. And then another one. Dredd broke the hinges of the automatic doors with bare hands and grabbed the two room's guardians. Dredd slammed each one by the opposite wall 'till he heard the joyful sound of their spines cracking.

The cruel alien dodged the soldiers' blasts. Dredd jumped in the air keeping the blade's direction. He surrounded himself with Force energy and unleashed a huge spheroid telekinetic wave hitting those men against the walls and disarmed them.

Dwayk Dredd continued to make his way through the countless soldiers by Force pushing them, Force choking them, Force tossing them against the tough walls.

Rage turned the Zabrak into an unstoppable and invincible Sith machine. Soldiers stood no chance against such a tall alien armed with a deadly weapon wielded with exact precision. Unfortunately, they died.

He cleaned each room in the Lower Levels to make sure there were no other threats.

Dredd left behind him dozens. No. Hundreds of dead bodies.

The whole place was clean and he powered down his blade laying it back in his belt. Dredd noticed an elevator that transported a person from the Lower Levels to the Main Jedi Headquarters and got there. Dredd grabbed his portable comlink hidden in his dark robe and contacted the Dark Lord Sion,

"Lord Sion. I broke in and I killed them all. I'll head now at the Jedi."

A blue hologram showed itself and Sion seemed busy holding off Jedi and Republic soldiers.

"Excellent.", Sion caught a laser shot with bare hands and threw it back in the soldier. He screamed when Sion hit him in his own face, burning it.

"Go and turn off the stronghold's defense turrets."

Lord Sion instructed the Zabrak to make his way in the Weaponry Chambers and deactivate or destroy the turret control system. Yet hordes of Jedi lurked above the Lower Levels, ready to strike down any threat. Jedi could arrive here any time now given they were able to use th light side to sense and track down darkness. Somehow he had to go unnoticed. Somehow he had to be invisible to their Force sense.

The technique of shrouding one's very presence from the Force's eye. Precisely.

He intended to lay his fingers on the elevator's buttons. Right then: Five Jedi Knights. Dredd could feel those five Jedi's light side signature and the Jedi sensed his dark side signature too.

The Knights reached the Lower Levels. The doors opened. And there was no one.

A brown shoe appeared out of the elevator's doors, "Have you felt it?", the Knight added, "Yes. I felt the presence. But it looks like it's… gone." But he wasn't gone. He was just looking at them suspended on the ceiling, holding himself by iron pipes.

"By the Holy Holocron", he was shocked of the number of corpses laying down the icy floor, "what happened here?", he activated his shoto. A green beam made its way out of its hilt.

"No idea. But we should be careful.", another blade appeared. Blue in color.

The Knights went further disappearing from the Zabrak's filled with rage yellow eyes.

Dredd landed on his feet and set a hunt season. A Jedi hunt season.

He followed them from behind, staying in shadows.

The Zabrak Jedi who carried his blue lightsabre heard a few steps stomping the ground.

It was perfect. The light yellow Zabrak's brown robe was the perfect disguise. He was almost as tall as Dredd. And almost as bulky.

Shadows whispered: "I am here. Come, brother. Come."

Those words ignited the Zabrak Jedi's curiosity and he was left behind by his brothers. A silent strike, and the Zabrak Jedi collapsed on the floor. He murdered a Jedi. And not any Jedi. He murdered one of his kin.

When such things happen, you finally begin to understand the grip of the dark side. Its cruelty and its corrosive effects over the weak minded. Its effects are so destructive they can change the noblest of beings and turn them into the vilest of killers. In Dwayk Dredd's case. From a humble and honorable military protector of the Republic turned into a conqueror merciless Lord of the Sith.

The Zabrak left behind the cold corpse of his very own brethren and returned to the lift. But what about the other Jedi within the Lower Levels? Well, they had unlimited time in searching their enemy. But Dredd was no fool. He blocked the elevator at the upper floor destroying its buttons. These Jedi were trapped. And the Sith finally got into Izaya's heart. Sion's victory is without doubts and obvious.

The black Zabrak stepped outside of the elevator and covered his face with the brown hood he stole from his fallen brethern.

Bad luck, though. Three Jedi Masters heard the elevator's buttons blowing up and their crackling sounds. They appeared. They are there with him.

"Son, what happened here?", the old human Jedi said.

"The Sith is here.", the alien said it menacingly.

"Where?", the old Jedi Master stared at him.

A bright purple blade appeared before his eyes.

"RIGHT HERE!", the Sith Lord struck the Jedi down before he could power on his sabre. Two green blades hummed showing themselves before Dredd's eyes. Dredd pierced the heart of the second Jedi. Who was a Duros. But he had no time to react.

"Chhhkkkk.", the blade crossed through the last. A female human Jedi. The Zabrak stabbed her into her guts. She died. She stood lifeless on the floor together with the other two Jedi. The Zabrak hid their corpses inside the broken elevator and resumed his mission.

Dredd contacted the Lord of Pain, "Lord Sion, I entered the stronghold. I'll turn off the stronghold's weaponry in a few moments."

Sion kept fighting the Republic's forces and the Jedi, "Good. But hurry up. These soldiers are pests and the Jedi are a pain in my back.", Sion said.

"Understood.", the holographic image disappeared back into the comlink.

The Zabrak was moving among the Jedi and the Republic soldiers with no stress. He was undetectable.

They could see only a strange person slowly walking. Reserved. With hooded face.

The Sith Lord avoided any contact with his foes focusing at one thing: the Jedi's destruction.

Republic soldiers, Jedi Knights and Masters walked by him. But they didn't question his intentions.

The Zabrak walked the long and large hallways full with dangerous Jedi. It was too bad they couldn't feel Dredd's dark side presence. 'Cause if they did, Dredd'd have been dead for good.

After twenty minutes of wandering inside the ancient large halls: the Sith Lord found the security room. Although it was easy for the Zabrak given he had a developed sense of intuition. He always relied on intuition when he had to go somewhere. And he was always right.

Eyes were too busy to fight the external threat. And they couldn't realize about the one inside. Arrogance and stagnation. The Jedi Order was deeply immersed in incompetence and hypocrisy. Dredd thought. He always had. Even when he was a Republic soldier. Yes. Even when he was one of them...

The Sith Lord laid his harsh fingers on the terminal computers. When eyes paid no attention, Dredd pressed them. The computer beeped showing a warning and then a robot voice pronounced that said so warning. Though the sounds propagated only to the Zabrak's ears.

"You are about to deactivate the defense system. Are you sure about it?"

The Zabrak's index finger leaned forward.

"Yes.", Dredd silently said.

The Zabrak watched the surveillance cameras observing the laser turrets turning off by bending down and beeping all at once.

It is done.

The turrets are deactivated. Izaya Stronghold is weak and defenseless now.

Dredd saw Sion slaying Jedi and soldiers. Sion spotted the change in the battle too and shouted by looking at the ancient structure, "The turrets are deactivated! All of us, advance!" Sion did more than that. He Force jumped in the air, "And now they are going down.", he shot with blue lightning sparkles in the stronghold's mounted weapons. Pure raw electricity crossed throughout the shells of the turrets, blowing them up.

The grey broken turrets were so damaged by lightning bolts they started melting.

Red lights changed Izaya's atmosphere. Everything was covered in bright red lights.

"Hey what did you do there, Jedi!?", a hefty soldier shouted aloud with authority.

"I won't ask again..." No response came from the 'Jedi'. But he was no Jedi. He was...

"A Sith Lord!", the soldier shouted seeing a purple beam of light flashing to life.

"Men! Fire!"

Dredd de-cloaked his dark side presence and dodged their blasts by enhancing his senses with the Force. Green laser beams hit the surface of the walls leaving tiny cracks in them. Dredd Force pushed those soldiers against the room's walls.

"Fools. The Sith have already won!", the Zabrak tapped into the reservoirs of dark side power. A powerful Force scream: unleashed. The cry shattered the windows of the room. Small and big pieces of transparent glass were spread all over the place. Inside and outside likewise.

Dredd calmed down and stepped back. When he felt he was ready: Dredd stormed out. A Force shield surrounded the Zabrak's body protecting it from random rockets, green laser blasts and shrapnel.

Darth Sion saw a huge figure blocking the sun rays as if an eclipse was coming.

Dredd made his way through soldiers and Jedi, regrouping with the Lord of Pain at Izaya's Gates.

"The Sith entered. I repeat. The Sith entered."

Sion finally could seize this world. He penetrated the stronghold, mercilessly decimating Jedi. Whether they were Masters or just Knights: all were struck down by the Dark Lord's thirsty blade.

The blade was really thirsty for blood.

Jedi fell. Soldiers fell. Only the fittest survived. And those, who survived, left the planet heading to Coruscant: the heart of the great Republic.

In the flames that burned down the Izaya Stronghold and ashes ascending in the air: a beast of fire walked. Dwayk Dredd.

Dredd took a deep breath and inhaled the smell of burning and of corpses.

It was…

It was nothing else, but mesmerizing.

And after you have witnessed the events through this story, you finally realize they reflect the very creed of the Sith Order. This is how the Sith view the world around themselves. Like a bright fire that destroys and consumes everything where only the fittest can resist it. And the fittest are granted with the precious gifts of the Force: glory and immortality.

For the Sith, the dark side gives a purpose and a reason to live to an individual. In the Sith image of the universe: power and conquest is what matters. The light side is nothing but a lie: it embodies stagnation and the very perversion of the natural order. It brings the individuals down and does not allow them to meet their true potential: to break their chains. The light side reduces the strong to the level of the weak. And the Sith know this truth.

The path of the Sith Order is one based on individuality.

For them: there is no such things as right or wrong. Only the sensation of power. Yes. For the Sith: power is the perfect tool which justifies every action and act. Power gives them the right over life and death, to set what is morally right and wrong. Power is morality. And morality is power.

"This planet belongs to the Sith.", Sion looked at the flames which dragged the building into the pits of hell.

"You are dismissed."

"Understood, lord Sion.", the Zabrak bowed before the Dark Lord and took another Sith shuttle to return to Malachor V.


End file.
